The Chronicles of Nicolai Imbartan
by LeaderOfTheRoyalGuard
Summary: The stories following Nick as he ventures through what he finds to be a very dark and disturbing version of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
1. Overthrowing of Equestria

(Before you start reading this, you should read Cupcakes if you hadn' the original and Minalkra's alternate ending to be able to follow this story the easiest. Thank you for reading and Enjoy)

I woke drowsily, feeling the rugged leather as it held my wrists and ankles to the wood table under me. I looked around the dark and dank room, noticing the sickening party decorations made of the previous hosts of these shackles. "Life is a party!" the dried skin banner read in blood and I couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of that statement for what had been done to make it.  
>"Fuck..." I said to myself, looking around for her. She was no where to be seen and I sighed, relieved for the moment, knowing it was only a moment. I realized this could be the last time I'd have the chance to look through these memories, so I did so.<p>

I remembered my first time here in this world, having not been from here. It was so much different from Earth, but oh so similar. I had woken up in the forest, not even any idea what the fuck had happened. I had fallen asleep in my bed the night before and now I was in the woods.

I stood up and wandered aimlessly down the path that seemed to have been beaten by someone or something. After a few hours of seemingly endless travel I came to the edge of the copious amount of unkempt lumber and saw a vast grove of beautiful apple trees. They looked natural enough, but the way they were lined clearly pointed to the fact that they were planted by something of intelligence for the sake of growing the produce.

I traveled through the orchard, attempting to not reach up and pick one of the fruits to quench my rising appetite. As I continued the trees began to become surrounded by large wooden buckets, which at first were empty, but soon gave way to full containers. I knew I had to be getting close to something by now.

"Yeehaw!" I heard, starting a bit at the unexpected noise. The voice sounded so familiar to me. I continued towards it. I saw a barn in the distance and as I approached I noticed four figures next to it, standing by carts full of apples. One of them was wearing a cowboy hat, an orange shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of cowboy boots. Her hair flowed down to the bottom of her shoulder blades and was the same color as wheat.  
>The next was a tall, well built man. His hair color resembled that of the previous girl, but only fell halfway down his neck. He wore a crimson shirt and, same as the girl before, a pair of jeans and boots. I noticed he was chewing a piece of hay in his mouth.<p>

The woman next to him was hunched over slightly, clearly finding this position the best for comfort. Her hair was white and tied up in a bun and she wore a green dress that went down to her ankles.  
>The next was a little girl with long red hair and a large bow in her hair. She wore a pair of overalls with a yellow shirt under it and wore red sneakers.<p>

Something was very familiar about all of this, but somehow I couldn't put my finger on it. I stepped out from behind the tree and proceeded to walk towards the group. They turned to face me, caught off guard by someone walking out of their orchard. The male and the teenage looking girl stepped towards me.

"And who just might you be?" The girl spoke in a southern accent, inquiring, but not unkind.

"My name is Nick," I answered back.

"Well, what are you doing out here in our orchard, Nick?"  
>"I woke up out in the forest out that way," I pointed back the way I came. "And I just happened this way. Where am I?"<p>

"You don't know where you are?"  
>"Not in the least. Everything's kind of a blur..." I lied.<p>

"Well... You're in Sweet Apple Acres, near Ponyville, Equestria," she said, probably never having to say this to anyone before. My eyes fell to the ground as it sank in both where I was and who I was talking to. I blinked a few times. "You alright there?"  
>"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine. Just got a rush of images." I looked back up to her. "Which way is town?"<br>"That way," She said, pointing down a trail.

"Thanks... umm...?" I pretended not to know her name.

"Applejack," She said, holding her hand out to me. I took it and shook it before continuing down the path she had pointed out.

I stared at the trees, grass, rocks, whatever I could focus on as I walked down the dirt path. My mind was taking a moment to wrap around the situation. Was I really in Equestria? If I was, why were they humans? I shook my head clear of the questions and thought that I might as well take this for face value and just try to get home.

I saw the town clearly as it eased up over the horizon. I saw a few winged humans, Pegasi, I found out they were still called here, flying across the sky and looked down the streets to see many of the other people walking through them. I continued on my way towards the town, looking between each and every person I passed. I noticed something I hadn't before. Everyone had some kind of tattoo on their neck, which I soon realized to be their cutie marks.

"Makes more sense then on their asses..." I muttered to myself. I continued down the street, taking in the familiar buildings of Ponyville, which I realized was a strange name for a place inhabited by humans, but I brushed it off, knowing they probably called all their towns horse puns like the show.

I had become a slight bit more comfortable as I walked through the padded down streets, watching people pull carts full of various items or taking in the wonderful sights of Pegasi and Unicorn (they called themselves that as well) humans, when suddenly I was bombarded by loud noises. I had instantly closed my eyes, but when I opened them I saw a mass of pink, wavy, bouncy hair and a large smiling face accompanied by large cyan eyes staring into mine.

"Hello! Hello! Hello!" She shouted in quick succession, deafening me even more. Her smile grew larger as she continued. "Who might you be?"  
>"My name is Nick," I said. She bounced around me twice before stopping in front of me and leaning right up on my face, her smile giving me a weird sense of peace and cheerfulness.<p>

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" She giggled. "I'm the local party expert!" She apparently noticed something on my neck, or a lack thereof and leaned in, her smile fading, but her wistful demeanor staying intact.

"You don't have a cutie mark...?" She said in slight awe. She poked and wiped at my neck, most likely attempting to get some kind of makeup off of me. As I was about to raise a statement she spoke again, her smile back. "Well, no matter! I think it's only fair we welcome you to Ponyville! How about a famous Pinkie Pie Welcome party?" She asked. I smiled, thinking back to the show and how much fun they seemed.

"Sure. Sounds like... a party." She smiled at me.

"Goody! I'll go get ready! Be at Sugarcube Corner at seven, alright?" She waited for my answer.

"Alright," I agreed and watched as she merrily skipped off towards what I recognized as the bakery. I realized now I had no fucking idea what time it was. I looked around for some way to check it, but saw nothing but the sun, and like most people of my generation, I had no clue how to read time by the sun. I looked around, hoping to see someone familiar when my eyes landed on a pony I could remember. I started towards her, but stopped a few steps later, remembering how she reacted when she first met Twilight. I probably wouldn't get a straight answer out of Fluttershy, at least not one that I could hear.

I looked around again when suddenly I was slammed into by a flying object. I heard myself and another entity grunt as we rolled across the dirt for a few meters until we stopped. I groaned in pain, but knew I'd be fine as I opened my eyes to look up at the girl sitting on top of my chest. She was shaking her rainbow hair. She looked down at me quickly and spoke just as fast.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" She got up and grabbed my hand, hoisting me to my feet.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I've had worse." Lie.

"You sure?" Rainbow Dash asked me, concerned.  
>"Yeah." I looked at her as she looked me up and down for damage. "You seemed to be a in a hurry. Shouldn't you get moving?" I asked. A look of confusion then hurried surprise covered her face and she shuffled between staying and making sure I was okay and whatever she had to be doing now a few times before she flew off. I smiled and continued to search for someone to ask the time of. I scanned the crowd until my gaze found the one person I thought would probably be more than willing to help me out: Twilight Sparkle.<p>

"Hello, Miss," I said as I approached her. She turned to face me with a smile, her varying purple and pink bangs hung low on her face, but blocked none of it, her horn poking through.

"Hi," she said back.

"You wouldn't happen to know what time it is, would you?" I asked. She looked down at her bag and pulled out a watch, checked it, put it away and looked at me.

"It's about a quarter after six," She answered.

"Thanks." I turned to walk away when she stopped me.

"May I ask who you are?"  
>"My name is Nick," I answered, turning back to face her.<p>

"Where are you from?" Oh shit... this question. My mind raced through hundreds of answers before finally settling on something.

"Far beyond the Everfree Forest," I answered, giving a half-real and half-lie response. Her eyes grew in amazement and worry.

"Do you... Are you...?"

"I'm not here to hurt anyone or anything..." I laugh at this these days. "Just passing through." I saw her features soften at this. It was natural to worry about things like this when you didn't know what laid beyond such a thing.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I heard Pinkie Pie is throwing you a party." I looked up at this, a bit surprised.

"Word travels fast around here doesn't it?" I asked. She laughed a bit before answering.

"Small towns tend to do that." She looked at me, having noticed my lack of a cutie mark as well. She began to study me, much like Pinkie had.

"I'm gonna have to get used to this aren't I?" I said, a bit irritated, but amused. She moved away, a bit bashful.

"Sorry. I've just never seen an adult without a cutie mark..."

"They don't have them where I come from."

"Then how do you know what your special talent is?"

"By learning it and perfecting it. I'm sure that's how you do it here too."

"Well... of course... it's just that..." She couldn't find the words to say.

"It's quite alright." Time to lie more. "If it weren't for the books I've read on your kind, I'd probably be studying every cutie mark I've seen." I smiled at her, easing her embarrassment. She looked enchanted by the words "books"

"You have books on us?"

"Yeah, from long long ago."

"Wonder why we don't have books on cutie mark-less Ponies..." They still called them Ponies here? Weird, I thought, but it made a lot of other things make sense now.

"I dunno. Maybe they were just lost or something."

"... Maybe..." I had to get out of this conversation.

"Well, I'm gonna take a look around before I head to Sugarcube Corner for the party. Will I see you there, Miss...?"

"Twilight," She answered. "And yes. I wouldn't miss a Pinkie Party for the world." She smiled at me and I turned with a good bye and walked away.

I turned my own way and walked back out of town a bit and sat on a grassy hill a bit away from Ponyville. As I sat there I heard the light sound of foot falls from behind me, but decided not to react to them.

"You'd be best to be on guard around here, Stranger." I turned to see Applejack standing behind me. Her gaze was solid and threatening, but her body language showed she meant no harm.

"What do you mean?" I asked back, slightly worried.

"Just keep yourself on guard. If you do, you won't need to find out. If you don't, you'll find out faster than anyone would ever want to." I stood up and faced her eye to eye.

"What are you implying here?" I asked back, not wanting to fool around. She moved her face closer to mine as she spoke, almost spitting her words.

"You are not from here. You don't know what is going on here. You don't know that you're digging your grave! If you're determined to stay in Ponyville, watch your back. If not, leave now before it gets worse." She turned and walked away at this, leaving me alone on the hill. I had never seen her act like that before in the show... Something was up.

A bit of time passed and I found myself at the party at Sugarcube Corner, the smell of cooking sugar and flour permeated the air. I sniffed, smelling something else... Something I couldn't put my finger on. I shook it off and enjoyed the party. I had a piece of cake and some punch, some salad and an apple fritter. Everything was delicious. That was until I picked up a cupcake. As I took a bite of the dessert my mouth was instantly washed over with a horrible taste and smell. I coughed and spat the chunk of frosting and baked good out. Everyone stopped to look at me.

The smell was back, the one I had chosen to ignore. It was back and it was worse.

I didn't care about the eyes on me, I tore the cupcake apart, looking for the reason for this horrible taste, but finding nothing. I finally composed myself as the others, who had no doubt heard that I was "from far beyond the Everfree Forest," Backed away from the crazy lunatic who was tearing away at a cupcake. I looked around them, composing myself.

What the fuck was wrong with me? There was nothing wrong with the cupcake that I could see, but that taste... it wasn't a rotten ingredient or anything. I had watched the other people, er, Ponies eat them as well and enjoy them. As I composed myself I took another cupcake, hoping that the first was some kind of messed up piece of the batch. I took a bite of this one as well and I was instantly assaulted by the same exact smell, taste and feeling. I pretended that it wasn't happening, but my stomach wouldn't last. I stepped outside and turned the corner of the building, vomiting the entirety of my stomach onto the ground.

"Had yourself one of her special cupcakes?" I looked up to see Big Macintosh standing there, leaning against the wall.

"What?" I asked, too stupid to ask anything else.

"You ate a cupcake right?" I nodded. "She has a special ingredient in them. One that most Ponies can't taste. Takes something non-Pony to taste it."

"Who else?" I asked, not sure why.

"Me, my family and you as far as I can tell."

"How do you know there's more?"

"The Ponies aren't the only race in the world. Here." He handed me an apple. "The sweetness kills the taste of the blood and flesh." I took it and bit into it, feeling the sweet juices getting rid of the horrid nightmare that had occurred in my mouth moments ago. Then my mind processed what he said. I realized what story I was in now... or at least where this one was basing from. Cupcakes.

"Great..." I said under my breath.

"Come on." He motioned for me to follow him. He led me to the woods, which he navigated without issue, unlike me.

"Stop falling behind," he said for the fifth time.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to walking through this crap."

"Well, try to keep up, we don't have all night."

We arrived at a camp, just a few tents and a fire in the middle of them. I saw Applejack sitting on the edge of a crate by the fire, same with Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. Applejack looked up at me as we arrived.

"I told you he'd be stupid enough to go."

"Eeeyup."

"Had a cupcake huh?"

"How the hell do you know about all this?"

"Because, we're the last of the Elves that resided in this forest thousands of years ago." My mind clicked again. I was in Minalkra's continuation of Cupcakes?

"But you have..."

"Cutie Marks?" Applejack reached up and pealed a sticker-like thing off her neck. "Part of the disguise. If they knew, Celestia would have us killed. Pinkie was going after you tonight. She thinks you're one of us."

"So you're hiding among them for survival?"

"Yes, but no. We need to stop Celestia. She's having her own kind killed for the sake of controlling a curse of bloodlust on her..." yep, Minalkra's story. "... that was put on her when she banished Luna to the moon. It caused two hundred years of war against all other races of Equestria. She soon found a way to control it when she captured a dragon, imprisoning it in her castle in Canterlot. It taught her how to control this curse. Keep it under lock and key. She needed something to die. Her kin. She needed their bodies to be devoured by the rest... That's where the Butchers come in. They're the people hired by the princess to kill, cook the victims into food, write down how they did it and send it to the princess. We don't know what happens with her, but... We're sure it's not pretty."

My mind jumped through the story I read a while ago. How she would read the stories, frothing at the mouth. How she would then visit the dragon's prison to deposit the reports and so on and so forth. I couldn't share this of course, knowing it'd sound insane, but I could think it.

"So how do you plan to stop her?"

"No idea."

"What about Luna?" I threw out there.

"What about her?" Applejack asked, but another question hit her. "How do you know about Luna?"

"I'm a lot more intelligent to your world's affairs than you know. Now She was the reason for this blood shed, this curse on Celestia. I think the reason the princess kept it under wraps for eight hundred years was in wait for her sister. She wanted to wait for an heir to pass the throne onto... when she could no longer carry her burden of this curse."

They looked at me dumbfounded. Realizing this was a possible outcome. They were also surprised at my confidence in the matter.

"Or maybe she wants to kill her sister. Get the ultimate revenge. Either way Luna needs to end up on the throne. She's most likely innocent and ignorant of the pain she caused since her imprisonment. We just need to figure out how to get her on the throne."

The Apple Family looked between one another and nodded their silent agreement.

"Well, what's your plan?" Great, they were trusting me now?

"First, I need to go back to the party. I'm sure they're missing me right now... and if I'm not there Pinkie will inform Celestia that I've ran and have some Butcher search party on my ass."

"You'll be captured!" Applebloom shouted.

"That's part two of the plan. Get captured and get some information." I wasn't sure of my own plan at these words, but this world was insane enough that it might work.

"How will you get out? She'll kill you." I thought for a second before stating my choice.

"Improvisation will have to be key at that point. I'm not one hundred percent sure what I'm dealing with." Truer words have never been spoken.

"You're being stupid," Granny Smith added, very sure of herself.

"Stupid leads to brilliance in the right hands... I'm those hands." I smiled to her and stood, heading my way back to Ponyville.

I went back to the party, waited til the guests were all gone. Pinkie asked me if I wanted to try one more cupcake that she made special for me. It was delicious. Definitely void of the special ingredient I was sure to become if I failed... but it had another, which I had expected, but the effects still caught me off guard, sending me to the floor in a daze.

Now we're back at the start of the story... Alright. Thoughts sorted. Now to think of how the fuck to get out of here... I struggled against the restraints, attempting to pull myself free, but of course she had practiced this and had fought against others tugging at them. I looked around close to me for something to maybe cut the ties with, but found nothing.

"Well... damn..." I said, a bit displeased. I don't know how I expected this to end up like a movie where I say an epic line and expect to be MacGyver or Chuck Norris, but I had. I hit my head against the wooden table I laid on and heard a slightly hallowed smack. The table wasn't completely solid. Yes! I steeled myself and lifted my head, bringing it down on the table, hearing it give a bit under the impact... much like my skull. I continued to do this a few more times before I realized this was fruitless and now the back of my head was bleeding profusely.

"That... did not work how I planned," I mumbled to myself, my vision blurry as hell now. That's when I heard her footsteps start down the stairs, the door down to here closing behind her. She walked into view and smiled at me cheerily. She of course had on the dress made out of cutie marks, Pegasus wings and the necklace of Unicorn horns.

"So how are you feeling?" She asked, genuine concern in her voice.

"Well, I'm tied to a table naked, you're crazy and my head is bleeding a lot more than it was before," I answered back with as much smart-ass attitude as I could muster.

"Well, why'd you go and hurt your head? That surely wasn't my fault." Her concern grew and she knelt down and looked at the blood pooling around my fractured skull. "Well, you're in luck." She stood up straight.

"How so?" Didn't like where this was going.

"I'm going to kill you quick. You've got nothing I want. No cutie mark, no wings, no horn. I'm just going to cut you open and take out your guts." Her smile while she said this was oddly adorable. She sounded crazy, but not like murderer crazy, just average run of the mill Pinkie Pie crazy. I smiled back and she looked at me with surprise.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked, not angry, but I know she had never seen anyone smile during this before. I laid my head down on the table, cringing in pain as I pressed on the soft, broken spot on the back of it.

"Well, I guess it feels right to die in the way that I killed hundreds of people before me," I lied. She looked at me in awe.

"You've done this too?"

"Yeah. Bit differently, of course, but about the same thing. Table, check, tools..." I looked at the cloth covered cart next to the table. "... check, victim, check. Only thing I had that you don't was a large amount of plastic covering the room." Ah, Dexter. Probably the only reason I even read Cupcakes without losing my lunch and mind.

"Why did you kill people?" She asked in amazement at these vomited words of untruth.

"Various reasons. Mostly because I felt like it. What about you?" I asked back. She showed signs of discomfort at this question and looked down at the floor before looking back up and answering.

"So I can make them into cupcakes, of course!" She had energy in the words, but not enough to make me believe it. This was Pinkie Pie of course.

"Come on. One murderer to another. It's not like I'm getting off this table. I might as well know why I'm dying." Her visage showed understanding and she brightened a bit more.

"Alright, I'll tell you!" Her energy was back. This was the truth. "Princess Celestia has what she calls Butchers all over Equestria, we specialize in killing and cooking our kills into food, Which we sell to the ponies all over." She stopped here, not done, but wanting me to ask a question.

"Why?"

"Because of a curse that was put on her a thousand years ago. The curse made all of the Ponies in Equestria and her become obsessed with blood and death. The only way to quell this was through blood spilling... or eating the flesh and blood of another once-living being. But for two hundred years no one knew about the latter, only the former. The Ponies slaughtered every other race they could find to quench this blood lust.

"After about two hundred years of slaughtering and violence Celestia, the major curse holder and the one who took the major blunt of it and had to taste blood more often than the rest, found that if the ponies were to eat the flesh of another living, intelligent creature would suffice.

"She rose up and created a world of peace, slowly letting the knowledge of the wars and curses fade to the back of everypony's minds and out of existence. She made pacts with the leaders of the other races, treaties if you will, saying that there would be no more violence and bloodshed between the races of the world. They quickly agreed, having seen the powerful abilities of the Ponies.

"She kept the truces, but of course had to find a way to quiet the blood lust that surged in all the Ponies of Equestria. That's where we Butchers come in. We're hired to kill a random Pony at random intervals, take their meat and cook it into a daily eaten food of the Ponies..." She was about to continue when I interrupted, apologizing instantly.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'll take it that that was probably why when I ate the cupcake at your party it made me puke. I'm not a Pony. I'm a Human." She nodded understanding.

"Most likely. I can tell you're not quite the same as any Pony I've ever seen before. Well, I'm genuinely sorry for it making you sick, but I'm sure you'll make a delicious batch or two yourself." Her smile was genuine happiness, not completely insane. I think she was really happy to have someone as psychotic as she was tied to a table and not yelling, crying or fighting her like everyone else.

"As I was saying however, the Butchers feed the blood and flesh to the Ponies of Equestria to keep them calm and unaffected by the curse. We have to send in a report to Princess Celestia detailing a minimum of ten Ponies we kill. I don't know what she does with them, but that's not my place to question." She smiled at me, her story done and waiting for any questions. I had none. I had the information I needed... still no way out though.

"Well, that makes a lot of sense. Alright. Should we get this on the road then?" I asked, nodding the best I could towards the cart of tools. That's when I felt it. The pool of blood had spread on the table and was reaching my wrists.

"Yeah, I guess we shou-" I interrupted again.

"Sorry, Pinkie. I know I'm being a bother by interrupting you again... But could I maybe trouble you with a glass of water or something before all of this. I know it's an odd request, but my throat is killing me..." I chuckled at the words, finding them genuinely funny. Something was wrong with me. She laughed too.

"Sure, I'll be right back!" She said this with pure kindness and skipped out of the room. I twisted my arm as best I could, soaking it in the blood that reached to my arm.

"Come on... come on!" There wasn't enough blood. "Dammit... here we go..." I lifted my head and slammed it on the table again, breaking more of my skull and dragging out more blood. I did it again, splattering blood into the air and over onto my arms. Again. I felt the cracking pain and the sickness in my stomach arise. I could taste the blood in my mouth, but found this refreshing, knowing it was mine. Suddenly the pool grew and I soaked the rest of my arm, dripping it down to my wrist and the strap that held me down. I felt it give and slid my left wrist out and reached over, unhooking the other and my feet after that.

I stood and found my clothes on the the table made of bones. I got quickly dressed, almost falling over numerous times as my dizziness faded and became more powerful and faded again. I turned around and saw the huge puddle of blood on the table and with a grim satisfaction a large crack in the table where my head had hit, dripping blood on the floor. I heard the door open and her footfalls on the stairs. I turned to face her as she stepped into the room, seeing me standing. Her face changed from the smile that she had been wearing, thinking she had someone who wouldn't fight and complain and scream to cut open, to a face of pure anger. I watched as her hair straightened out, which I remembered from the show as being when she lost her mind and turned into what the fans dubbed Pinkamena.

"How'd you get out of your bonds?" She asked, her cheeriness gone. I pointed to the blood on the table and showed how my body was still covered in the sticky liquid under my clothes.

"Lots of blood," I answered. She growled quietly. I knew I was no longer going be safe here, but I realized where I was standing in relation to her, she was closer to the table full of sharp tools.

"Well, there's going to be a lot more after I'm done with you!" She moved forward and tore the cloth off the table, grabbed the hacksaw and stepped towards me quickly, swinging the sharp blade at me. I ducked and moved out of the way of the next swing, feeling the rush of air as it passed a few inches from my cheek. I tried to move closer to the door and suddenly felt the connection of the blade as it imbedded itself in my arm. I howled in pain and looked down at it stuck down to the bone. Her hand was still on it and I looked up to her face, which was twisted in anger and realized that this was not going to be pleasant at all... She yanked the saw, grinding it against my bone and ripping flesh and muscle along with it until it was out of me. The arm was useless now, but she couldn't cut completely through with one slice and it was still attached. I kicked at her. She took the kick to the stomach, but in stride. She was insane and pissed, the worst combination.

"You're going to die here and now!" She shouted as she swung at me again. I dodged and started to run to the door, my limp arm smacking my leg as I did so. Surprisingly enough I got to the door and out of it before she even caught up to me. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake stare in surprise and fear as I ran out of the secret basement and through their kitchen and out their door. I stopped in the middle of town, the Ponies staring at me in amazement, my arm barely hanging on. I turned around to see Pinkamena running out of Sugarcube Corner after me, the saw still in her hand.

"Gods... Gods... Gods..." I couldn't think of anything to do. I was frozen in confusion. She was right on me, about to swing that damned bloody blade into my neck when I saw this flash of red go over my eyes. It took me a second to realize it wasn't blood, but in fact had been Big Mac tackling her down. He looked at me.

"Ru-" He didn't finish the words before she slit his throat with the saw. I knew what he meant though as I turned to see Applejack and Apple Bloom waving for me to come with them. I ran after them as they took off into the woods. I followed as best I could, realizing we were weaving around the trees to attempt to lose Pinkamena. I kept running, barely keeping the red of Apple Bloom's hair or the yellow of AJ's in view as I chased after them.

"Did we lose her?" Apple Bloom asked to her sister when we stopped.. I watched Applejack look up the way we had come and around us completely.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Zecora's hut. She'll heal that arm of yours. She's the only one I think we can really trust right now." She started walking in a sure direction. She sure knew her way around these trees. Soon we came to the familiar looking hut. Applejack knocked on the door and soon I saw the black and white hair of the Zebra, of course in human form, as she opened the door. She moved out of the way to let us enter the hut.

"It's begun," Applejack said to her.

"Come in my friends. Let me help meet your ends." We walked inside and I looked around at all the ingredients for potions. Then I remembered something and looked down to see my arm, still hanging on by a bit of muscle and skin and completely red and covered in blood. My eye twitched a bit and I got dizzy.

"Relax, Zecora'll fix you up good," Applejack told me. She was holding Apple Bloom who had now begun to cry and I wondered why for a moment before the image of Big Mac dying to save me came back to my mind. I closed my eyes for a moment and remembered the action. I was still alive and they needed my help to make sure that this all stopped.

"Now hold still and I'll fix this quick, just need to take a little bit..." She took a bit of the blood off of my arm and into a vial, causing pain to shoot through it, but I bit my lip and took the pain. She moved over to a mixing bowl and among other ingredients poured it into it, stirring it up. She handed me the potion. "Drink and heal, be proud you're not a meal." She clearly meant that I should be happy I'm not dead and a batch of cupcakes right now. I drank the potion, cringing at the bitter flavors and watched my arm link back together bits and pieces before becoming whole again. I moved it experimentally and found it worked great. I felt the back of my head start to move like a clay mold and form back to normal and soon the horrid pain and my blurry vision faded away and I was feeling much better.

"Thank you, Zecora," I said to her. She smiled back to me.

"Think nothing of it, if you're the one to end this shit." I smiled subconsciously at the swear. We decided to rest for the night, but I was restless and couldn't sleep. I walked outside the hut and sat on the grass. I stared at the moon and all it's glory. What was next? Just attack the castle and hope for the best? That's all I could think of. I closed my eyes for a second and instantly saw her face, raging and angry against my eyelids. I shook awake.

"Now I'm scared?" I asked myself, I clearly wasn't so scared when she had me strapped to a table, but then again, I was always steeled during situations where I needed to be... not so much after or before. I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Gods I'm tired..." I opened my eyes again and this time I jumped at the living face right in my own. "Ahh!" I involuntarily whisper-shouted.

"Calm yourself," Applejack said to me. She sat down next to me and we sat in silence for a moment. We both stared out into the woods that surrounded us.

"What you thinking about?" I asked. She turned to me, a bit of anger in her eyes, but not really directed at me.

"Just about my brother. I can't believe he's gone... She killed him." The tears welled up in her eyes as she said this, the contempt for Pinkamena showed clearly.

"Applejack... I'm so sorry..."

"You should be. If you had just stayed with us he wouldn't have had to die. We could have just assaulted the castle, killed Celestia and freed the Ponies of their blood lust." I looked at her in a bit of confusion. "Celestia is the body of the curse. If she is to die, the curse will die with her," She explained. I knew this of course, but I had to make sure I covered all my bases here.

"Luna?" I asked.

"I'm sure since she was locked away through the entire lifespan of the curse this far, she's probably clean of it, like you said." She stared at the moon. I watched the woods. She stood and walked towards the door again. "You should get some sleep, Nick. You're gonna need it." She walked into the hut and closed the door quietly. I sat outside the hut for a moment longer before I walked inside.

I awoke to a familiar smell, the one that had permeated from the walls, the decorations, the table of the basement torture chamber. I looked up and found Pinkamena standing over me, the bloody saw in her hand. I tried to move my arms and legs, but found them unable to move. She had drugged me. She put the saw to my neck and pulled it along it, dragging my blood and air away from me.

I awoke again, sitting bolt upright with a slight scream, which woke up Applejack, Apple Bloom and Zecora, who were all in the same room since it was the only one in the hut.

"What is it?" Applejack asked annoyed. I looked outside and saw that it was still night.

"Just... Just a nightmare," I answered.

"Go back to sleep!" She said, laying back down. The other two did the same and I followed. I didn't sleep however... Not until I felt an arm reach over me and heard the light whisper in my ear. "Just relax. The hut is protected by magic. She can't get in here. I promise."

"Thanks Applejack..." I said, grabbing her hand. It wasn't romantic, but for comfort. She may hold contempt for me, but she knew how bad it could be to have been in my situation, even if I had put myself in it and she most likely needed the comfort as well.

"You're Welcome, Nick. Now sleep. Please." And I did.

I woke up to everyone staring out the window. They all looked worried. I stepped forward and looked out the window as well. What I saw scared the living shit out of me. There stood about five lines of maybe ten or more Ponies, lead by none other than Pinkamena.

"The Butchers..." I said.

"Looks like Pinkie got some friends to come help her track us down..."

Shit... shit shit shit shitshitshit! I thought. "What do we do?"

"You're going to go out the back door, we're going out the front and we're going to fight them while you head to Canterlot and slay that psycho princess of ours..." Applejack said.

"Yeah... that sounds solid..."

"Only plan we got. They can catch us if we all go, but we can at least take down the Pegasi before they can catch up and take you down."

"Applejack..."

"Yeah, this'll be the last time you see any of us... Good luck, Nick." They pushed open the door without another word and charged into battle. I watched as they leapt up and tore the Pegasi down to the ground, breaking their wings and stopping them from flying after me. I caught Pinkamena's eyes as she stared at me. I turned and burst out the back door, charging through the forest. I looped around a path marked "Canterlot" clearly placed there by Applejack or Zecora. They knew this was going to happen. I followed the signs until I came to the train tracks that lead up the mountain to the capital city. It was gonna be a long hike, I thought.

That's when I heard the foot falls behind me and turned around to see the now bloodier group of Butchers coming through the trees after me. I noticed that the Pegasi did have broken and misshapen wings now, but they were clearly still able to chase me on foot. I turned and ran as fast as I could into the dark train tunnel. I hoped and prayed there was no trains coming from the other end of this fucking thing as I ran through it, tripping and stumbling over the wooden pieces between the rails.

I heard their footsteps behind me and knew that I had to pick up the pace, but I was getting winded. I was from a world where I could eat meat and not exercise. I didn't have to pull shit on Earth. I was a fucking photographer! These Ponies had a leg up on me in all categories, but I was running scared... that was the source of my energy and I picked up the pace. Suddenly I heard it. The train whistle and the bells. I looked up ahead of me and saw the light. There was no where to go... I couldn't go back because of the murderers behind me, but I couldn't go forward because of the train. Time to make a decision.

"Fuck this shit!" I turned and delivered a kick to the jaw of the closest Butcher, being higher up than him made it easier. I grabbed his dazed self and threw him into the others, rolling them down the tracks a bit, but missing a few, one of which was Pinkamena, still brandishing the most accursed weapon of all time. She took a swing at me and I ducked out of the way, sweeping the leg of another one of the Butchers and causing her to fall into another bit of the group.

I heard the train whistle getting closer, but still a bit off. I had a few more seconds.

I grabbed the Pegasus who was standing up in front of me's wings and put my foot on her back, pulling with my arms as hard as I could while pushing with my leg with all its strength. Her wings let go and she screamed in agony as I kicked her to the ground. I flipped them around and grasped them by the bloody side, blocking Pinkamena's next attack with the muscular flying appendages. I never figured wings would be a good weapon, but apparently Pegasus wings were. I smacked Pinkamena across the head with one and she stumbled back. I stepped forward and kicked another one of the Butchers down, sending him rolling and knocking a few others down.

The train was almost on us. I forced myself not to turn to look at it. I blocked another of Pinkamena's attacks and kicked her in the stomach, stepped forward and headbutted her hard in the nose and smacked her with the wing in my right hand. She stumbled backwards, bleeding from her now broken nose.

The look on the Butcher's face told me the train was right on us and I dove out of the way, putting myself flat against the wall, hoping it would work. I felt the air whip at my face as it passed by, but also felt the warm spray of blood as it mowed down the Butchers. It was a good twenty seconds before it finished passing and I moved away from the wall. There was guts and blood and gore everywhere on the tracks, but I didn't care about the other Butchers. I was looking for her. I found her decapitated head, still attached to a good amount of her chest, but missing the lower half of her torso and her arms. I smiled when I saw the weapon I had feared sitting on the tracks. I threw the wings to the ground and picked up the damned hack saw.

Why do they call it a hack saw Pinkie? Well, you saw what you were doing with it at me? Yeah, that's why.

I turned and started up the tunnel hill again. I came to the top of the hill about an hour later, having taken a half hour rest at one point now that I wasn't in direct danger. I came to the Canterlot train station, but no one had seen me yet. It was packed with Ponies and I saw a few guards by the door, but of course they were unarmed. I was gonna have to make a run for it.

I steeled myself and ran through the crowd who all gasped and screamed at the blood covered lunatic carrying a hacksaw through a train depot. I made it to the door and slammed my shoulder against it and bashing it down, the guards doing nothing in this unexpected situation. I looked around for a second and charged up towards the castle, the crowd staring at me as I ran through the hectic streets, brushing blood and guts onto people as I ran into them.

I knew the guards knew I was coming now as I ran up the path to the castle and I got my hacksaw ready. As I approached about ten stood in my way and instead of stopping and attempting to reason, which I knew wouldn't work, I cut them down quicker than I even thought I could. I looked at the big open door in front of me now. Celestia was in there somewhere...

And I ran to my left, towards the gardens. I ran through the paths and plants, not meeting resistance since the guards were all in the castle protecting the princess. I slowed down to a jog as I saw him. I stepped towards the statue, looking at all the various animal pieces that made him up. Discord. Now how the fuck to get him out of this prison... how did it happen before...?

I rattled my adrenaline filled brain trying to remember the little fact. I ran through everything I knew about Discord, about the fan pieces and things like that, but I couldn't remember how he was freed. Suddenly I was overcome by anger and started cutting at a bush with the saw growling as I did so. I heard the cracking and remembered. Chaos.

Suddenly the stone exterior broke free and he stretched. After he was done he looked down at me, his eyes full of questions and confusion at the one, cutie mark-less Pony that stood before him and showed only signs of glee.

"Now who are you?" He asked, flying around me a few times before and stopping in front of me.

"My name is Nick. I've come to ask your aid in overthrowing Princess Celestia." He cocked his head in confusion.

"Why?"

"She's insane and is killing innocents for some curse that she, and the world are afflicted of. She is the sole holder of the curse, but it affects all of Equestria. If she dies, the Ponies are free." I told him, telling the story as quickly, but clearly as I could.

"What do I get out of this?" He inquired.

"I can't stop you from taking whatever you want... My King." I put in that last part on a whim and realized I liked that idea. He smiled evilly.

"Then, should we kill a princess?" He was into the thought of breaking Celestia's rule... especially if it meant he got a world full of chaos.

"Let us." I smiled evilly back.

We traveled through the hallways of the castle. He knew where the throne room was so I followed him. We came to the large doors that barred the way into where we needed to be. I readied my saw and Discord actually readied himself to cause some havoc. I smiled to him and he smiled back and we charged forward. I hacked and slashed and kicked and punched my way through the guards that I could get my hands on, feeling their warm blood flowing over my skin made me psychotically happy. Once the guards were dead I looked at Discord, Also covered in gore. We looked at the door...

"Three! Two! One!" and we bashed it in. It was exactly one instant after the door flung in that we started clearing the room of guards, slashing and hacking from me, tornados and claws and biting from him. Soon there lay nothing but nigh a hundred dead bodies, a growing pool of blood, a monster and me and Discord.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Celestia yelled, her anger showing clearly as she foamed at the mouth. I smiled and waved my saw in the air.

"We've come to kill you Princess."

"And to take your throne from you," Added Discord with an evil chuckle.

There weren't any more words shared as me and Discord charged forward and I was instantly lifted off the ground by her magic, which Discord was immune to, and thrown against the wall across the room. I stood back up and was greeted by more guards charging into the room, lead by none other than Twilight Sparkle's brother, Shining Armor.

"Kill them all!" Discord yelled, fighting an aerial battle with Celestia, blocking her attacks while simultaneously throwing his own wildly. I could tell he was a powerful fighter and would easily handle the Alicorn which I couldn't reach.

"Yes, My Lord!" I charged into the thicket. I jumped over Shining Armor at the start, using my new adrenaline and psychotic rage to vault over him. I brought the saw blade down on the guard behind him's neck, cutting halfway through it until it got caught. I pulled the blade out gruesomely spattering blood on me and his comrades. I proceeded to slash to my right, cleanly cutting the neck of the guard standing there. I used my left leg to kick the guard behind me into a few more to buy me a second or so to duck the fist that flew over my head from the captain. I rammed the top of my head into his chest, pushing him back a bit before letting him fall to the ground. Turning I blocked the punch, that had been aimed at my head, with the blade of the saw, causing his fist to split in half along the blade. I pulled it back and wound up the attack, landing it cleanly on his shoulder, lopping the arm off. I kicked him back. I slashed across another one of the guard's chests, cutting deep into his flesh, causing him to fall down in agony. I blocked another attack on me and floored that one quickly with a punch to the throat. I brought the saw down on the top of another of the guard's heads, breaking through the bone surprisingly easy, thanking Pinkie for keeping her tools high-quality and sharp. I turned and kicked at the guard that was running at me from behind, feeling his ribs break and splinter under the force. I looked around me and saw no one else but me and Shining Armor.

"How... How... could you?" He asked, the most cliched line ever. I was about to answer when I saw the movement of the three still alive guards out of the corner of my eye. I walked over to each one while I talked.

"You know... I have no real reason. I'm not even from here..." I brought my leg up and stomped down hard on the guard's head, crushing it like a grape, blood and gray matter flying into the air and all over the floor. The captain cringed as I did so. "But I feel like it's somewhat my duty to fix this pathetic little part of the world, or at least set it RIGHT!" As I shouted that last word my foot caved in another of the guard's skulls. "Now, I'm a bit overzealous with my actions sure, but you know, you have to have fun with what you're good at right?" I pointed at my neck and he knew what I meant and looked away as I crushed the last guard's head. "Now... You can run now, or fight a losing battle." I turned to him and waved the saw in the air. He looked at me, turned and threw open the large doors as he ran.

It was then that I saw her. Luna. She was staring at me from the blood covered throne room. She saw Discord fighting her sister and me standing over the numerous bodies covered in blood. She didn't know how to react.

"Princess Luna," I said, bowing to the Princess of the Night.

"What is going on?" She asked, awestruck.

"Your sister is the bearer of a curse that plagues your land of Equestria. I have come here to destroy her and free the land."

"And Discord?" She was way more calm than anyone seeing all of this should be, but I could tell she was in shock.

"I have asked his help in this matter to help stop her, since I couldn't stop her alone. I want you to have the throne my Queen." Discord's laughter rang out and he spoke loudly.

"You would have me believe I would rule beside her?"

"Yes." I said, confidence in my voice. It stopped his next smart ass remark. "You two could easily rule this land. Her to keep you in line and raise the sun and moon and you to help with the magic of disharmony to keep the world in natural balance." While Discord held Celestia off, her attacks irrational and angry... Chaotic even, easy for Discord to block and dodge, he and Luna both considered this. Luna believed me when I had told her that her sister was mad and cursed. She had tasted the sickening cupcakes and knew something was wrong, but wasn't sure what. Now she knew and she had a way to help the poor Ponies of her world.

She stepped into the room and used her Alicorn magic to drag her sister down from up high, which Discord helped with as she struggled. Celestia growled and shouted expletives and obscenities at us as I moved closer, twirling the saw on my finger. I got right up to her and slit her throat with the blade without a second thought. She gurgled and choked and then fell limp, her rainbow mane and tail wisping away and becoming nothing. She fell to the ground as Luna let her go and both her and Discord felt what I felt. There was a change in the world. A newer feeling of peace resonated through the hearts of the Ponies, whether they felt it or not, the curse was broken. Now was the new Era of Equestria. It was the Era of Luna and Discord.

I've served as a royal guard for almost three years now. I've observed how the world took the news, but soon accepted the ancient evils of the world as reformed and now the true rulers of Equestria. The remaining Butchers were hunted down, disbanded and slaughtered themselves by me personally.

Luna and Discord worked hand in hand to create a self-sufficient world. Sure Pegasi were still given weather control, but there were heavy storms that even they couldn't stop, created by Discord. The seasons were still part of all the Ponies of Equestria's jobs to put in order. Not too much changed, but the ruling was now easier to handle in the world. The Ponies seemed to enjoy it more. I think with the lack of the blood lust curse on them, they were even more accepting of Discord and Luna being King and Queen.

As for those two, they did actually fall in love. Strange, but it was pleasant in my eyes. They were both shunned evil at one point, both imprisoned for a long time, but here they were working together to make peace. A slight lack of order, but peace nonetheless.

Me? Well, I'm now the General of the Royal Guard. I took the role of leader from Shining Armor, but offered him his job back, which after a lot of reluctance he agreed to.

One bit of the story remains to be told.

It was a few days after the slaughter and takeover that I was greeted by several familiar faces.

"You told me I'd never see you again," I said in amazement at my friends arrival.

"Well, they sure wanted you dead more than us. They just got us out of the way and went on after you." Applejack sounded happy, knowing that our mission had been a success and it was over. I scanned over her, Apple Bloom, Zecora and Granny Smith, but I stopped when I realized that there was one more Pony standing there with them.

"Big Mac?" I asked.

"Eeeyup," He answered.

"How are you...?"

"The Ponies in Ponyville patched him up right after what happened... was hard to keep him stable since his throat had been slit, but Twilight helped keep him alive until after our little escapade against the Butchers. We hoped that you'd live and beat Celestia, but we knew there was nothing we could do to help now, so we went back to Zecora's hut. She healed our wounds and then we went to Ponyville. We found where he was being kept and Zecora quickly healed him as well." Applejack told me.

"Well I'm glad to see you're alive. All of you," I told them, giving each one of them a big hug as I did so.

"You too, Nick... You too." Applejack smiled kindly at me as she spoke these words.

Everything went by with the mission to wipe out the Butchers for a few more years before I was approached with information I had hoped wasn't of affect in this world. As I opened the letter I felt AJ's presence in the room as she stepped towards my desk.

"Whatcha got there?" She asked, but I felt she already knew.

"Think Twilight could get us that spell so we can walk on clouds?"

"I reckon she could be asked... why?" She again knew, but wanted to make sure I knew what I had read.

"Well, we've got a factory to visit... And I'm sure Rainbow Dash won't appreciate the visit..." I burned the letter in the candle on the desk, put it out and escorted AJ out of the room.


	2. Raid On Cloudsdale

(Before you read this Please read Rainbow Factory. It'll help make this story make a bit more sense)

I sat on the train, listening to Big Mac's snoring as he laid his head against the glass. It was dark in the cab except for the light above each one of the seats, as we were going through the main tunnel from Canterlot to the Ponyville train station. I loved the train, especially when we ran through this tunnel, reminding me of the battle with Pinkie and the other Butchers that had occurred here, and had been where I had gained my beloved weapon of choice, my hacksaw, which I kept with me at all times, sharpened and ready to use.

Across from me sat the Apples, Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Mac were the main three that stayed alongside me, being my lieutenants and all, I trusted them above anyone else. I had found out, however, that the rest of the Apple family were also Elves living in disguise among the Ponies and they were all willing to help when needed, but I asked them to keep their disguises intact and stay where they were unless called upon.

Applejack was my first lieutenant. When the others couldn't be there, she was always willing to destroy some stuff or kill something. She was a bit colder towards me than the other two, but I trusted her with my life and important missions just the same.

Big Mac was my second in command. He was the one who trained the Royal Guard alongside me in the way of sword combat. We had entertained the notion of forcing them to all use hacksaws as weaponry, but found swords were easier maintained and much more damaging. He was also the closest in combat prowess to me, even above Applejack.

Apple Bloom was my sentry, small and agile, she was able to infiltrate certain places that the others couldn't go. It wasn't long ago that she joined the guard under me. After my help in usurping the throne from Celestia she had stayed in Ponyville and went to school as normal. Many Ponies kept their peace with her, knowing the hand her family had had in the murder of the princess, but some spoke up and insulted her and her family, while some praised them. She always had Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell to stand by her, knowing the full truth of what had been happening, making them grow closer. But after a year or so she graduated from the school, alongside Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell, and they all moved on, following their own paths.

Sweetie Bell had gone off with Rarity to Canterlot to live her life as a singer while her sister became a fashion designer, and, as per my request, the designer of the Royal Guard's armor. Sweetie Bell often entertained at the castle, which was always a fan favorite. King Discord and Queen Luna always enjoyed the shows and graciously allowed the Guard and staff to attend as well if they liked.

Scootaloo went back to Cloudsdale and to take her flying exam, of course with praise from her friends and the rest of Ponyville, myself included. I'll never forget the day when we heard the results of her test...

It was a bit after everything had happened and me and the Apples, who during apple bucking season would go back to help out, were bucking apples, which was actually powerfully kicking the trees to get them down, much like the show. We were taking a break in the afternoon, me and Mac leaning against the barn and just talking, which consisted of me blabbering on and him just nodding quietly. Applejack was sitting under one of the trees asleep and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell were playing, for one of the last times before Sweetie would be going to Canterlot with her sister. Scootaloo's little brother, Yellow Star played with them as well.

We all noticed the Pegasus flying down from among the clouds, descending to stand in front of us all. We gathered around, knowing that this Pony was definitely from Cloudsdale. He looked over all of our faces, frowning as his gaze passed over the expectant children and I knew something was wrong.

"What news do you have?" I asked.

"You know a young Pegasus named Scootaloo?" He asked in general.

"Yes," I answered back. His frown became more prominent.

"She has... failed her flying exam..." I wasn't looking at him at this news, but instead the children. Apple Bloom's face turned to horror, she knew that failure meant exile from Equestria. Sweetie Bell was instantly onset by sobs and tears as she ran off in the opposite direction, back towards Ponyville and Rarity's home. Yellow Star was probably the worst off. I watched as his bright yellow glow faded into dull yellow. His face became contorted as he attempted to hold back the tears of knowing his big sister was gone and he'd never see her again. I moved closer and put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me and then proceeded to hug my leg, crying loudly into my hip.

"Where is she now?" I asked.

"She has been taken to the place of exile, like the other Ponies who fail their test." He said this with recorded knowledge. He had no idea where this place was, as none of us did. Hell, even Luna had no idea. I think I was the only one with even the slightest hint of a possible location.

He told us that he had to go inform her family of her exile, but I stopped him, telling him that I would do it. It had to be easier to hear such a thing from someone you actually knew. I walked Star back home and knocked on the door. His mother opened it with a smile, but then saw the tears on my face, as the pain of the known loss and the idea of what might be happening to her at this moment had torn at me enough to bring me to tears, and frowned. She looked at her son, who had calmed down a bit, but at the sight of her, embraced her and began to sob violently again. She invited me in and I explained the situation that had been explained to me by the Pegasus. They're eyes filled with water until it flowed over, they all hugged each other and cried loudly, knowing they may never see their daughter again. I left then, leaving them to grieve.

I found myself in the basement of Sugarcube Corner, now empty and cleaned. Why did I find comfort in this musty old cellar turned murder room? I remembered when I had to come back here to clean this place out.

I walked into Sugarcube Corner and saw the Cakes behind the counter. They both looked over at me and smiled sadly. It had been about several months since the usurpation at this point. I was followed by about ten other guards, all suited for hazardous pickup.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake," I greeted them.

"General," They greeted back. I had been given the name by the King in his first speech to the Ponies of Equestria. It took some getting used to, which was why I hadn't been out much and why no one was allowed into the castle without searching. People were still uneasy, but they knew that I was on their side, lest they make me an enemy.

"May I see the basement please?"

"Yes, of course." Of course the basement had been hidden from these two until that day when I escaped. The reports from Pinkie had shown that she worked alone and the Cakes had no idea about her acts, and ever since that day they had kept it locked. Mr. Cake unlocked the door and moved out of the way.

"We're not going down there," He told me.

"I don't blame you." I stepped inside, followed by my comrades. I flipped on the light at the bottom of the stairs and looked over the room. Everything was the same, except for the puddle of blood that had fallen on the floor from the table and the pool on the table itself had dried into red crust. I smiled at the memory, but didn't let anyone see that. That was probably my favorite victory, escaping those fucking restraints. I brought myself back to the present.

"Alright, anything identifiable should be given to the families for proper burial, with reasonable time before showing them the body parts of course. Don't just throw it in their face and say 'here it is! Your daughter's head!'" I told them. They knew better, but I had to get my point across somehow.

"What about what cannot be identified?" One of them asked me.

"Bag it and get it out of here. The town has arranged a cremation for all who have lost their family members to this. We've located them using Pinkie's reports and have given them all notification as to the situation. Now get to bagging this all up. We've still gotta get Ponies in here to clean this crap out before sundown." I left at this point to check on Twilight Sparkle. She was now the Guard's top magician, teaching other students of magic about her knowledge, but it had been hard to convince her to join us.

It had been a few days and I had decided to go to Ponyville. Of course, being the closest city to Canterlot, they had gotten the news first and it had spread as a horrible story, showcasing the horrid slaughter that had been laid upon the castle by myself and Discord. They had barricaded their city and had some Ponies guarding the "entrance" to the town. As I approached this entrance one of the Ponies held a pitchfork up at me, showing me that he would use it. I was unarmed as this was a peace mission, but I knew he would easily be overpowered if I moved in the right way, untrained as I was.

"Stop where you are!" He shouted. I stopped only out of courtesy for the peace I was attempting to preserve.

"I need to get into the town," I stated, as kind as I could be.

"No one gets in," He said, completely serious and unwavering.

"You either let me in, or your head is going to open that door." My peaceful attitude fell away quickly. He looked surprised at the change of tone in my voice.

"N-No one will enter!" He stumbled over the word for a second before gaining his composure back. That was all I needed to know he was scared. The other guard next to him held up a shovel and was ready to help defend his comrade.

"You have about five seconds to open that door before I open your skulls..." I was serious too. They looked at one another, then back at me and held their ground. I shrugged. "Your choice. Don't blame me." I moved forward quickly and grabbed the pitchfork as it was jabbed at me, pulling it out of the Pony's hand. I brought the handle back around and hit him across the jaw with it, instantly knocking him out. I turned and pinned the other's shovel to the ground with the pitchfork and grabbed him by his shirt. "You really shouldn't have stopped me..." I threw him into the barricade, breaking apart one of the carts and the door in one fell swoop. As I stepped over the unconscious body of the shovel guard I apologized to his body and continued into the town.

Many of the Ponies in the town were watching me as I walked through the streets, some from their windows, some from the street that divided the houses. They all showed fear in their eyes, one: knowing who I was, or at least what the rumors had made me out to be and two: having just seen me walk through the dusty wreckage of the barricade after somepony had flown through it unconscious. I paid them no mind, heading directly for the library.

When I reached it I walked inside, not caring to knock. I was then assaulted by book after book after book, being hurled at me by purple magic.

"Get out! Get out! Get out!" I heard Twilight growling through clenched teeth.

"Twilight, please! Stop and listen!" I was pelted by a wall of maybe ten or so books, knocking me back onto my ass and dizzying me a little.

"No! You get the fuck out of here!" She yelled, the anger apparent in her voice. "You're the one who freed Discord again! You're the one that killed Princess Celestia!" I couldn't see her, but I knew this anger and this rage at me was founded very deeply in her love for the corrupted princess... or at least the act that the princess had put up to everypony.

"Celestia lied to you Twilight! You have to listen to me!" I was pelted by more and more books, feeling the pain increasing as she cracked some bones with the throws.

"She would never lie to me! How could you even think that! She was a great leader and a great mentor and she loved everypony!"

"I have evidence right here!" I threw my satchel onto the floor, spilling the contents: Pinkie's reports to the princess and the princess' own journal... or at least one of the hundreds I found. The books stopped flying at me as I saw the purple maned Pony step out of the shadows and move forward. I took this time to stand up.

"They're Pinkie's reports on the Ponies she killed that she sent to the princess."

"What's this?" She held up the journal.

"Celestia's most recent journal. It contained information that I thought you'd like to know." She began reading it and I sat down as she did so, watching her intently. She read about how Celestia used her, trying to find a way to break the curse that didn't involve her death. Maybe if someone was as adept at magic as she was she could maybe kill them and make some kind of potion that would free her. She read about how Celestia was going mad knowing her sister was free from this curse and wanted to kill Luna for causing all of this. She read about how Celestia was always tempted to lead an army out of Equestria and slaughter everything she could find.

The tears welled up in her eyes more and more as she realized her idol, her mentor and her beloved friend had been nothing like she had imagined. She put the journal down and instantly picked up one of the scrolls, opening it and reading the horrible acts that Pinkie had committed. I saw the tears disperse, but reappear as she realized yet another one of her friends had been insane and corrupt and horrible.

"Do you believe me now that they had to be overthrown? That, even though they were once evil, maybe Luna and Discord can rule this land in peace?" I asked. She turned to me and stared at me in silence as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Do you really think they can?" She asked after a few moments.

"I think if I can help lead them in the right direction they have a pretty good chance." She stood and moved towards me. She was only a few inches away from me when she spoke again.

"You killed innocent Ponies to get to her. You freed an ancient evil that we worked so hard to seal up. You know it'll be hard for us to forgive you, or Luna or Discord for what you've done?"

"Yes, I know. But it will happen as long as we stay on the right course." I was sure of this.

"Well, I'll help you as much as I can." She turned away and looked at the mass of papers on the desk in front of her.

"Then, as the leader of the Guard, I dub you, Twilight Sparkle, Head Magician of the Guard. You can live where you please, but if you're asked to help, unless it's truly something you cannot do, you will help. Understood?"

"Yes... sir." She added the last part with uncertainty.

"Will you help me attempt to calm this town? If one town believes it, then others will believe that all will be okay."

"Yes, I will."

We called a town meeting and I explained the situation that had occurred, the curse, the effects on the Ponies, how Celestia had "fixed" it and why I had to stop her. During my speech many of the Ponies muttered about how they had felt more calm since the princess' death and of the day when Pinkie had chased me out of the town and wounded Big Mac. These little things were what brought around their decision to heed my words, but Twilight explaining what she now knew about the princess' actions really drove it home. She explained what she had read in the journal, what she had read from Pinkie's reports, she even asked one Pony to come up on the platform and read one of the reports to himself, causing him to vomit on the ground.

"Do you understand now, Ponyville? Celestia had to die to bring about new peace here in Equestria. Discord and Luna will be taking over as the King and Queen, to which I'll personally keep a close eye. Discord has promised to keep the chaos to a minimum, unless it is needed for a purpose and Luna has taken it upon herself to raise the sun and the moon respectively. Please, accept these two and allow them your respect and maybe this will all work out." I stepped off the stage as they all rang out their agreement. After that I found myself on a train back to Canterlot, much like the one I rode on now.

"You okay, Nick?" Apple Bloom asked quietly, concern in her voice. Her brother and sister were asleep and I looked quickly to my right to see one of my Captains asleep with his head leaned back against the seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about some stuff." I answered back, looking her in the eyes. She had grown up quite a bit over the past few years. She was about five and a half feet tall and the body of an athlete, which came with the strength and speed needed for her job.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you weren't having second thoughts about all of this..." I shook my head.

"No. We bring down Cloudsdale. There's no other way around it..." I had read the report that the Pegasus sitting next to me, Skyblade was his name, had brought back. It had explained what went on in that god forsaken factory up there in that cloud city. He, on my orders, had infiltrated the Rainbow Factory and watched the inner workings before escaping as quickly as he could and returning to me. Much to my dismay the report he brought back explained the exact situation that had happened in the fan fiction I had read back home. He hadn't watched the exact execution of the many young Pegasi in that story, but had watched one nonetheless.

"Skyblade, for your efforts and for having witnessed this horrible atrocity, age not being a factor, I offer you retirement of your choice." I had said to him, giving him the option to leave the Guard now and never have to look back. He had just shook his head.

"I cannot do that, sir. I personally want to help in stopping this horrendous act on young Ponies if it comes to that." He stood firm, showing no signs of backing down or changing his mind. He was a stubborn colt.

"Then Skyblade, you will accompany me and the Apples on our raid of Cloudsdale when it comes to happen." I informed him. I knew he'd be a good Pony to have on our team, especially since he understood the factory better than the rest of us.

"Yes, sir!"

I looked at him again at this memory. I smiled at the resilience of this young Pegasus. He had passed his flying test nearly two years before he should have even been able to fly and had joined the Guard shortly after at the young age of thirteen. He would not have been let in since he did not meet the required age to join, but he proved himself a worthy swordsman when he took on both me and Big Mac in battle.

"I have to join!" He had yelled at me, disobeying me again.

"You show great desire, but no understanding for superiority or the ability to take orders," I answered back. He backed up a pace, but then moved forward again standing his ground.

"Please, sirs, I must join the Guard!" He said again.

"What could you possibly have that the Guard would need?" I asked.

"I'm the fastest flier to have come out of Cloudsdale, save for Rainbow Dash." I knew this was true. "And I can fight with all my heart and I will never give up."

"You think you can fight, eh?" I asked, but didn't give him time to answer. "Grab two swords, Mac, we'll see how well he can fight against us." I saw the young Pegasus' expression flicker for one second to that of worry and back to steeled resolve. Mac grabbed two blunt swords, used for training and my saw, not so much for training. He handed the young Skyblade a sword, me my saw and got ready to fight. "Me and Big Macintosh are the two lead fighters here, youngling. Let's see how well you stack up against us. Go Mac."

Big Mac stepped forward quickly and swung a fast overhand blow down on Skyblade, who barely blocked it. Instead of waiting for Mac to do something else he kicked out, attempting to hit Mac in the stomach or chest. He succeeded and Mac backed up, a bit winded from the unexpected blow. It was enough time for Skyblade to step forward and bring his sword down towards Mac's neck, to which the big colt ducked and punched Sky right in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground, but he quickly got back up, faster than I think even I would have. He lunged forward, driving the sword towards Mac's throat, but Mac moved quickly again and slashed the sword forward, hitting the young colt in the stomach, flooring him again. It took a second longer, but it was still faster than anypony else would have gotten up from that powerful of a blow. As the battle was about to resume I shouted out.

"Cease!" They both stopped and looked at me. "Thank you Mac."

"Eeeyup." He said, moving to stand behind me. I pulled my saw off of its clamp on my side and took hold of it in a fighting stance.

"You can hold your own against Mac, but of course his blade isn't a threat in here, nor would he want to kill you. Me? Well, I'm a bit more cold blooded. You take a hit from me, you lose and you die. You think you can hold your own for one measly minute?" His eyes never faltered and his resolve never wavered as he nodded.

I swung at him instantly from his nod and he blocked it even faster than Mac's first shot. He was ready for this fight, unlike before. I didn't waste time or give him a seconds respite as I began swinging my saw wildly, hitting his sword over and over again, never letting up for a moment. My weapon was lighter and, of course weaker and wasn't doing any damage his sword, but the blows were still weakening his arms as I pressed down on him over the next thirty or so seconds. After a moment he got the rhythm down and as I swung down he swung up, clashing our blades in midair. The heavier of the objects won out as he made me fling my arm and weapon in the air unexpectedly. He swung at me, but I jumped back, but he followed through, using the momentum to swing it around his head and down again, clashing with my saw as I brought it down in time to block. I kicked him in the chest, using my skills at apple bucking to help with the power, and he flew off his feet and across a few meters of the training room before he fell down on the ground. He jumped back up and charged at me and swung diagonally down towards my neck. I parried and spun behind him, grabbing him around his neck, putting the saw right against his throat.

"Drop it." I said and he dropped his sword after a moment of reluctance and, I'm sure, examining what he could do with it. I smiled a bit, but it went away as suddenly he grabbed my arm with the saw in it and rolling his body forward, flipping me over his shoulder. He increased his speed as I went over his back and he slammed me hard into the ground, kicking my saw away before I could get my composure back. He had completely outwitted me. I looked up at him, slight anger and plenty of will to fight in his eyes. I smiled at him and he calmed a bit. "Welcome to the Guard, boy."

Now he sat on the train with me only two years later, resting for the big day ahead.

"Nick!" Apple Bloom whispered harshly. "You there?" I shook my head.

' "Sorry... just thinking again."

"Well stop that!" She smiled as she said this. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just everything that's happened in the past few years... It's been... eventful," I told her. Her smile softened and she stood and walked over to sit next to me, laying her hand on my shoulder.

"Well, it's hasn't been too bad..." I noticed her pause as she remembered losing Scootaloo and how it had hurt her, but she now knew what had happened to her friend and it had given some kind of closure. "At least we've all stuck together."

"Yeah..."

"Keep your chin up. You always tell us to smile and look on the bright side. It's time for you to do that." Her smile and cheery voice made me smile as well. I remembered that Pinkie had taught me that lesson long before I had come to this world. It was always good to laugh and smile.

"Alright. Thanks Apple Bloom," I said, giving her a hug.

"You're welcome." She hugged back. "Get some rest." She said and went back to her seat and closed her eyes. I knew she was sleepy just like everyone else. I closed my eyes as well.

I sprang awake sitting in the cab with a yelp. I looked across me hurriedly, thinking maybe I'd woken someone with the sound, but there was no one there. The Apples were gone. I turned to my right and noticed that Skyblade was gone as well. I looked out the window and saw that we were still in pitch blackness, but the train was definitely moving. I stood up and walked out into the hallway and the door to my cab shut and locked behind me. I looked through the glass pane into the cab, but it was pitch black now. I looked around and noticed that it was the same for all the rooms.

"What the hell...?" I said to myself.

"Nick..." I heard a familiar voice echo through the hallway and my breath caught in my throat as my brain recognized who it was. I turned and saw the long, pink and straightened hair on Pinkamena's head and I instantly reached for my saw... which wasn't on my belt. I noticed now that she held it. I didn't know what to do. This was impossible. She was dead! I blinked. I opened my eyes to the feeling of choking. My feet were off the ground and she was holding me up with her left hand, the saw in her right. Her eyes were pure white, no pupil, no iris, nothing, just white. She just emitted a low growling sound as she held me in the air. When I was about out of breath she dropped me back to my knees. I looked up and she was a few paces away, but something was different. The saw was gone and her hair had been returned its bouncy nature. Her smile was bright and welcoming.

"Sorry about that," She said to me, sincerity in her voice. She held out her hand to help me up. I took it and stood face to face with her. "Why don't you come visit me?" She said, smiling caringly at me, her blue eyes sparkling as she said this.

"But..." I started...

"Come visit me, please!" She bounced up and down. "Please! Please! Please!"

"Alright," I said to her. She smiled and hugged me.

"Yay! I can't wait to see you!" Suddenly she was gone, but her voice came out of nowhere. "Again, sorry about Pinkamena... I'll keep her in check, promise."

"Ya-" I clamped my hand over my mouth as I woke up with a jolt and yelped again. This time the cab was still occupied all were asleep. Luckily I hadn't woken them. I turned to see if I had woken Skyblade, but he wasn't sitting in his seat. I stood and walked into the hallway again, praying that the same thing didn't happen, but when the door closed it stayed lit in the room and the rest of the rooms were lit as well. I walked down the hallway until I came to the next cart, which upon entering I noticed had tables with candles on them. It was a dining area, but was closed for the night. I looked around and saw Skyblade sitting alone at one of the tables, staring out the window at the passing darkness.

"No matter where you sit, it's not going to change whats outside the windows," I joked a bit. He turned to me, but didn't smile.

"I know," He said, solemnly.

"What's wrong?" I said, sitting down. He looked out the window again and it was silent for a few moments before he spoke.

"You know... what happens in that factory...?" He asked.

"Of course. You brought me the report. It's why we're going to Ponyville," I answered.

"And do you... remember a little filly named Scootaloo?" He looked at me, tears showing in his eyes.

"Yeah. How do you know about Scootaloo?" I asked back, not quite putting two and two together.

"She... you... She was my big sister..." I recognized the face that sat across from me now. His skin turned pale and his hair grey, I hadn't been able to notice that Skyblade was none other than Yellow Star.

"Star?" I asked. He simply nodded. "Last time I saw you... I had taken you home that night..." He nodded again. "What happened?"

"I became sick because of the distress that my family and I felt and it caused me to become very weak. My color drained away and it never came back... I changed my name when I got better and left to live with my aunt and uncle in Fillydelphia. I trained as hard as I could, got my strength back and then came back to Cloudsdale when I thought I was ready to take my test. You know I passed and then I joined the Guard. I felt like if I joined, maybe I'd find out where they took my sister and I could find her and visit her..."

"Sky... I... I sent you into the Factory... oh Gods..." I said, realizing my horrid mistake.

"No! I'm glad you did. I found out what happened to my sister... All I want is vengeance now... I just want vengeance on Rainbow Dash. My sister idolized her and she personally kills those Ponies... I'm sure she killed Scoot as well..."

"Sky... I'm sorry..." I felt the sheer horror growing in my mind as I thought of the accidental pain I caused this poor soul by giving him the mission I had.

"Why?" He was genuinely confused.

"I... If I had known..."

"I didn't want you to know. I know that you wouldn't have let Yellow Star anywhere near something that dangerous or even let him join the Guard. I'm glad you didn't know, Nick. I need to do this. I'm glad I found out what happened. I just want that damned Pegasus dead..."

"Well..." I tried to think of the right words. "How do you feel about destroying that entire retched city?" He smiled at me and the tears continued down his cheeks and he turned to stare back out into the rolling blackness.

We arrived in Ponyville very early the next morning. The town had barely begun rising and working. I walked through the town with the group of companions behind me, catching the gazes of the Ponies, but they had gotten used to me and the Apples coming through here during apple bucking season. I think many of the girls were fawning over Skyblade however. He was very well built and very handsome for his age, but I don't think he noticed. His mind was on the task at hand.

We came to Twilight's tree house and I knocked. Spike opened the door and I smiled at the purple dragon and he smiled back.

"Hi, Nick," He said, excited to see me. It was rare that I got to see him, but most the time when I did we would play some games or do something fun, but not this time.

"Hey, Spike." I patted his shoulder as I stepped inside, usually welcome here as if it were my own home, so taking it as such. "Twilight home?"

"Yeah, she's on the second floor." He watched as my companions followed inside.

"Thanks." He gave me an expectant smile and I had to stop for a second. "Sorry, man. I'm strictly here on business. I'll come back soon, alright?" His face turned to disappointment, but he managed to smile through it.

"Alright..." I patted his head and moved towards the stairs. As we ascended I heard the shuffling of books above us. As I rounded the top of the stairs I saw Twilight organizing her books on the shelves.

"This one goes... here. This one... here..." She mumbled under her breath. I waited a second before I spoke.

"Twilight." She jumped and lost her grip on a set of books and they all fell to the floor. I winced at the sound. "Sorry..." I said.

"No worries." She smiled at us. "Organizing is still organizing... even if I gotta get them off the floor. What brings you to Ponyville?" She addressed me solely.

"Well, I need to ask you a favor Twilight. We need you to cast the spell that allows us to walk on clouds." I could have just made it an order, but I had befriended the purple-maned Pony in my time here in Equestria and hated giving her orders.

"What for?" She asked, concerned.

"We need to make a visit to Cloudsdale for royal business, but of course only Skyblade here can walk on the clouds." He nodded as she looked at him and then she looked back to me.

"Well, let me just find the book..." She turned around and looked around for a moment. Spike walked past me, holding the book that she was looking for and I smiled as he held it up to her face.

"This the one?"

"Found it!" She yanked it out of his hands using magic and opened it to the desired page. "Alright. Here it is. It'll only last for a few hours though. When do you plan to visit Cloudsdale?"

"Tomorrow," I stated. "We'll be leaving in the morning."

"Alright. We'll do it when you're about to leave." She put a page marker in the book and set it on her desk. I saw Spike give me a look of confusion as I said that we'd be there for a day. He confronted me about it later, once the Apples and Skyblade went off to Sweet Apple Acres.

"I thought you were just here on business?"

"We are. We just need to stop for a second and plan everything out."

"What's going on?"

"I can't answer that Spike. Please... I promise, I'll come back in a few days and we'll do something fun, but for now I need to get everything else planned out, okay?" He looked at me with slight anger. "Please, Spike. I don't want you to be mad at me. You're my friend. If this wasn't important I would gladly hang out with you, but I gotta get some other things set up before. Okay?" His anger disappeared at the sincerity in my voice.

"Alright, but you promise you'll be back in a few days?"

"Yup. I promise." I rubbed the top of his head again.

"Alright. I'll keep you to that." He smiled and ran back to the library. I sighed and walked over towards the graveyard at the end of Ponyville. I knew Pinkie was buried here because I was the one who explained that she should be. She had always made people smile and cheerful and probably saved more lives than she ended. As much of a psychopath as she was, she was a credit to society. Hell without her they would have all gone into a blood frenzy and killed anything they could see. So they buried her remnants here. If my dream was accurate she wanted me to visit her and this was the only way I knew how.

I found her grave and knelt down by it. "Pinkamena 'Pinkie' Diane Pie. Taught us to always laugh in the face of fear... was a face of fear to many in the end." her tombstone read. It showed the bright side of the adorable pink Pony, but also reminded you of the horrid acts she had committed. I couldn't think of anything to say. I had no reason to say sorry for what happened. I had no reason to commend or show her disdain for her actions. I had nothing to say, good or bad. Then I thought of something. I looked down at my belt and took the saw off of it. I looked at my trusty weapon one more time, running my finger along the blade. I sat it down on the grass above the grave and stood.

"No real reason for me to make the joke again..." I said.

"Nick..." I heard a distorted voice from behind me and turned. There was a pony dressed completely in black standing behind me. I noticed that there was a cloud of gray smoke emitting from it and my head became heavy. "... Sleep."

"Fuck..." I said before passing out.

I awoke quickly and tried to move, but my hands were tied down and I was laying on a table in a dark room. I looked around the room and my heart skipped a beat as I saw the outline of streamers and a banner hanging on the wall across from the foot of the table. I couldn't make it out all the way, but my brain instantly replaced it with the sickening decorations that I had seen when I was in Pinkie's kill chamber.

"Fuck... is this gonna become a motherfucking thing for me?" I said, half-angry and half-jokingly, trying to calm myself, but I got no response. I stopped and thought for a second and realized that I only had one way out of these damned things. I cringed at the remembrance of the pain and lifted my head up off the table, closed my eyes and began the descent down towards the table, only to be stopped by the softness of a pillow.

"Don't do that, please," The distorted voice came from behind me. I watched as they walked to my side and looked down at me. I looked at this masked figure and couldn't help but ask.

"Pinkie?" The figure laughed at this, not cruely, but with heart and warmth.

"No." They continued to look me over and then turned around and I noticed that they had wings and I jumped to another conclusion and my heart pounded even harder.

"Rainbow Dash?" The figure laughed again.

"You're very poor at this game..." They leaned close to my face and spoke again through the voice modifier. "Try one more time." I thought through all the Ponies would probably want me dead and probably had a connection to the Butchers, but that was basically all the Butchers that were still alive or even the Celestia Resurrection. No specific names came to mind however and I just accepted defeat and tossed out he first name that came to mind.

"What? Derpy?" the figure over me moved back slowly, reaching up to remove the mask and allow the flowing golden hair to fall down to her shoulders. She peered at me wonderingly with her yellow eyes and I was flabbergasted.

"How'd you know?" She asked, very confused and in wonderment.

"I... didn't... wait! Are you going to kill me?" She looked insulted.

"No! No! No! No!" She waved her hands in the air as if to shoo away the question and I eased up a little. "Sorry. I'll explain." She leaned forward and untied my hands and legs allowing me to sit up as she turned on the lights, showing the gruesome decorations out to be nothing more than regular party décor. She didn't speak, which was what I was waiting for, but instead she crossed the room past the table and towards the other side of the room. That's when I noticed the second black clad figure who was standing not but a foot away from me and jumped up and got ready to fight. This figure put up its hands as if saying "Don't worry." I eased up a bit, but stayed tensed nonetheless.

"What is going on?" I half-yelled.

"Relax." Another masked voice. The figure reached up and removed its mask as well and my heart found its way back into my throat yet again and I couldn't find the words to speak as I choked on my own tightened esophagus. I'd killed plenty of Ponies over the past years that I'd been here in Equestria, but never once had one come back from the dead.

"P-P-Pinkie?" I finally wrestled the word out of my mouth. She smiled kindly to me.

"Hiya Nick," Was all she said, her normal bounciness back in her hair and a chipper volume in her voice. She watched me for a second as I gained my composure as best I could.

"H-How are you alive? I saw you dead on the tracks in the tunnel!" I urgently tried to make reason and cause this apparition to dissipate, but she stayed and spoke again.

"Yeah, I saw you find 'me,' but that wasn't me. That was actually my close cousin Millicent." I couldn't tell if this was some kind of sick joke or not.

"You're kidding me?" I said, a tone much like calling bullshit clearly in my voice.

"Nope! She was a Butcher too. Her father had been one too, which lead to her becoming one and me also." Her voice betrayed no lies and I actually was believing this...

"You're fucking kidding me?" I said a bit louder.

"No," Was her simple answer this time.

"But that was you I fought in that tunnel right?"

"Yup. I barely got out of the way of the train, just like you."

"But if you were alive, why didn't I see you again?"

"That's a bit more complicated. See, when the train hit the Butchers I had brought with me, their blood splashed on me, much like it had on you. Instead of making me more resolved to finish my mission, which was to kill you, it made me snap out of my rage and realize that if you were going to kill Celestia, then maybe that was a good thing, so I let you go. I followed you until you got to the train depot, then I turned back and came home and hid for a while."

"But what does Derpy have to do with this?" I asked, still not understanding everything that was happening.

"Well, Derpy was an old friend of mine from when we were way younger. She was actually the first Pegasus I ever met. When I became a Butcher I needed to tell someone and she was the only one I truly trusted enough to tell and think they'd be able to keep the secret. She accepted me for who I was and for what I was doing, but she told me she'd never have a part in it personally and I granted her that as long as she kept my secret.

"After the battle in the train station I came back here and she let me in and hid me away for a while. I actually felt when you broke the curse since Pinkamena slipped even farther back into my brain than she had ever been before and I was happier than I think I'd ever been. I wanted to talk to you, thank you for helping get rid of that curse, but I knew if you ever saw me again you'd instantly attempt to kill me, so I just let you think that I was dead. That was until now, of course."

"Was it actually you that contacted me through my dream?" I asked after a few moments of silence between us all.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Well, all Ponies hold a little bit of magic. Not as much as the Unicorns or Alicorns, but enough if used right. I used it to infiltrate your dreams for a long time and just watch you and see if you were doing okay and when it would be a good time to talk with you."

"You attacked me in that dream..." I brought up.

"Actually, that WAS your dream, not me. I was going to contact you that night since it'd been enough time that I thought you wouldn't kill me if you saw me under controlled circumstances and I was going to ask you to visit me. But sadly that was of course the one time you chose to have a nightmare about me coming to kill you... which of course I had to interrupt." She smiled sorrowfully at me. "Nick... I wanted to say sorry for trying to kill you... I know it doesn't sound like it would come from me after all the Ponies I killed and the sick things I've done, but I'm very very very very very very very very very very sorry..." She sounded very truthful and I found myself doing one action that I never thought I'd do to someone that had done what Pinkie had done to me. I hugged her. I heard her breath catch as I held her close. She hesitated for a second and then returned the hug, which was followed closely by tears.

"I forgive you Pinkie. I don't know how I can forgive you, but I forgive you," I said quietly. She hugged me tighter and I returned the pressure.

"Aww!" I heard Derpy say and we pulled apart. Pinkie sniffled and wiped her eyes with her black glove before smiling at me tiredly.

"Thank you, Nick."

"Of course. You didn't just call me here to prank me and say sorry though. What else did we have on the agenda?" I asked, sitting on the table as they pulled up the foldable chairs. Pinkie was the one who spoke.

"Well, my main plan was to ask your forgiveness and hope to move on and help you any way possible... So I've heard you're planning on attacking Cloudsdale and..."

"Wait. How did you hear about that?"

"I heard about it through a few of my connections. Delivering mail can lead to lots of discoveries," Derpy said. "Especially when Ponies think you're too stupid to listen or care."

"Huh... Well, that's helpful actually... So wait, one more question. You're not as stupid as you want people to believe?" I tried to ask this as non-condescendingly as possible, but it still sounded it. She didn't seem too fazed and spoke lightheartedly.

"Nope. It's just an act. Wanna know the story?" She seemed like she really wanted to tell it so I waved her on. "Well, I grew up like most Pegasus children, knowing that my flying test would make or break my life, right? Well... I was never a very good flier, adequate, but not too good. Anyway, when the test came around I failed alongside about ten other Ponies. We, of course, were taken to the Rainbow Factory in Cloudsdale and were going to be killed just like the others before and after us. Luckily there were two very strong factors that got me out of that building that day. One: the Pegasi that were in the group were strong willed and weren't going to go down without a fight and two: They didn't have Rainbow Dash in their midst yet, since she was a year behind me.

"While the manager of the Factory at the time gave his speech about how we were useless and all we were good for was to be killed and made into rainbows, we all jumped at the chance to attack. Many of the young Pegasi died in the first few moments of the battle, but soon those damned suited Ponies were taken down one by one, but they kept pouring in. We finally broke down one of the doors and a few of us flew as fast as we could through the corridors, but they were catching up and taking us down with the cattle prods they use as weaponry.

"After a stressful flight I found myself outside of the Factory after breaking through one of the black storm cloud walls that lined the inside to stop anypony from escaping, nearly shocking myself to death. I hovered, dazed, as more and more of the suited Ponies flew out after me, not being affected as much. One of them tazed me and I almost lost consciousness. That's when I remembered something from my test. I closed up my wings and fell... and fell... and fell. The wind grew painful as I reached terminal velocity. I watched as the ground grew closer... and at the very very last second I spread my wings out, almost breaking them off, and flew as fast as I could away from Cloudsdale. I got a few miles away before I crashed and passed out from exhaustion. I woke up with Pinkie standing over my bed and a wet towel on my forehead. She nursed me back to full health and that's when I found out that I was in Ponyville.

"It'd been a few weeks since the end of the flier's tests and my escape and they weren't looking for me anymore, thinking I was dead, no doubt. So I just chose to blend in with the town, get a job and make a name for myself. I made myself out to be stupid and simple and took a job as a postmaster. No one ever questioned it and I've been safe here ever since."

"Huh... Makes a lot of sense..." I said, scratching my head as I tried to think. That was a bit more to take in, but was definitely one of the more normal things to have happened today.

"So, I owe you and Derpy has a personal vendetta against that floating city. So, can we help you?" Pinkie asked, hopefully. She seemed oddly happy to have the chance to kill for something besides what she had killed for before.

"I'm more than willing to take all the help I can get. You two are free to come with me as you please, but I doubt that anyone else is going to take kindly to a ghost and a postmaster fighting alongside them... especially a ghost that killed hundreds of Ponies." I stated the fact, knowing how complicated it'd be to explain to everyone.

"Don't worry! I'll help explain!" Pinkie's smile reassured me and I proceeded to tell them to follow me. They put their masks back on and lead me outside the house. Of course it was night by the time I had woken up and I'm sure the rest of my group were all awake wondering where the fuck I was.

"Come on," I said, leading them around the back ways of Ponyville. Ones I'm sure they knew, but they followed me anyway. We came to the barn, which was where we would be staying, since Granny Smith had called upon some of the cousins to come help with the Orchard while the rest were with me and had taken refuge in the house. I opened the door and stepped inside to see everyone sitting by lamp light. I went in alone, motioning for the other two to wait for a second. Everyone looked up at me as I stepped inside the building.

"Where have you been?" Applejack asked, sounding slightly worried.

"Just... visiting some old acquaintances," I replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She was definitely more easy to anger than the show counterpart. I believed it to be the lack of acting she had to do now, so now she could show her true emotions with no worries of blowing her cover.

"Well... First I need you to all promise that you'll stay calm..." I looked up at Skyblade in the rafters. "Including you." He nodded at me. They all looked at me somewhat concerned. "Please?"

"Alright," Big Mac said first.

"Okay," Apple Bloom chided in.

"I guess I got no choice..." Applejack clearly would rather know what it was before promising anything, but she knew how this was going to work. I looked up at Skyblade.

"I promise," He said. I turned back to the door and motioned for the two to come in. The two black clad figures stepped into the barn and the group watched intently as they stood there quietly.

"If you would like..." I moved between them and the Apples, knowing Skyblade wouldn't move if he promised me. "... You can remove your masks." I heard the rustling of the masks coming off and watched as the Apples jumped to their feet in surprise and fright at one of the Ponies behind me. I turned to face Pinkie and Derpy. Pinkie gave me the look of 'knew it was going to happen' and Derpy just waited for more words to be spoken.

"Now, before you jump to con-"

"Why the fuck is she here! Why the fuck is she alive?" Applejack began screaming.

"Calm down!" I yelled back, just a bit louder, but she wasn't listening.

"How the hell is this possible? And why is Derpy here too?"

"Stop yelling and I'll explain..." I said, quieter.

"What is going on?" She was done this time and waited for an answer. It took a bit of explaining, but after telling them everything that these two had explained to me, the Apples and Skyblade seemed to see reason in the situation and accepted it reluctantly. After they all went to sleep I found myself sitting outside the barn, against the wall, just staring out at the apple trees. I remembered that night that I had done the same outside Zecora's hut. I looked up at the bright moon as it rose over Equestria, knowing the magic that pulled it over the darkened, starry sky.

"You really should be sleeping you know," Pinkie's voice said from the door into the barn as she closed it behind her.

"So should you," I answered back.

"I've had a few years of not being able to sleep more than a few hours because of the guilt that came from what I did... You know how hard it is to go from being insane to sane?"

"No. Not really."

"It's tough. Especially when you've actually done something horrible when you were insane... I wake up in cold sweats, remembering how I tortured and killed the Ponies over the years. Hearing their pained screams, their agonized wails, their pleads for mercy... It's all been so vivid ever since it all stopped..." I could hear the sadness in her voice and looked up to her to see the tears on her face. I quickly stood and embraced her. She hugged me back and began sobbing louder. She was mentally taxed beyond any type of understanding and I could feel for her. I just stood there with her wrapped up in my arms, stroking her hair as she sobbed into my chest. She truly was a better person now and it made me somewhat saddened to know that she had so much on her conscience.

I closed my eyes and ran through my memories, trying to see what I could find one that was similar to hers. I saw the dead corpses of all the Ponies I'd killed over the years soaking in their own pools of blood. I remembered the feeling of the warmth of blood as it freshly splashed onto my face and body and the feeling of contentment and pleasure it brought with it. I opened my eyes, shaking away those thoughts as I realized that I felt no regret for any Pony I'd killed... ever. I pulled away from the hug and Pinkie looked me in the eyes and noticed my distress as I tried to think of why I reveled so much in the blood of the slain.

"Nick... what's wrong?" She asked, her tears still flowing from her eyes and down her cheeks. I tried to think of a way to say it. A way to relay what I thought might be wrong with me.

"Pinkie... what if... that curse... what if... it transferred to me when I killed Celestia?" I asked, just putting the question out there. She hugged me tightly again.

"No, it didn't. I promise." She sounded so sure of her words.

"How do you know?"

"I've seen your dreams. They're not the ones of a cursed soul. They're not the dreams or nightmares of someone obsessed with killing and bloodshed... I would know..." She said the last three words with contempt for her actions and I hugged her back.

"But... I feel no remorse for the blood I've spilled..."

"But has the blood you've spilled been for a good cause?" I thought about it. Every Pony that I'd killed was someone that stood in my way of trying to make the land of Equestria more peaceful. I never killed anyone that didn't know the consequence and I always apologized when I had to hurt someone. Maybe I did feel remorse, but my mind knew that what has been done had to be done and couldn't be changed. I'd probably have some sort of break down in the future.

"Yes, it has been."

"Then you've done nothing wrong... Let those thoughts drift away and smile through them." She snuggled closer into my chest and I hugged her tight again.

"Thank you, Pinkie."

"No, thank you, Nick..." She leaned up and kissed my cheek, let go of the hug and walked back inside the barn. I sat back down against the barn wall and watched the trees. I caught a glimpse of something flash across the moon and looked up to see a Pegasus flying over head. Last I saw Skyblade and Derpy were inside asleep and I jumped to my feet, instinctively reaching for my saw, which I now remembered was still on Pinkie's... no, Millicent's grave.

"Shit..." I said, when a voice spoke quietly to my left.

"You should watch your tongue General..." I turned to see one of the familiar white robed figures step out from behind one of the trees. I didn't know this girl herself, but I knew who she represented. As she walked out into view about ten more walked out from behind the trees as well. They all wore the white robes with the half rainbow masks that covered the left side of their faces. The Celestia Resurrection, a group of Ponies that were still loyal to the corrupt princess, even after her death. They worked to bring the Sun Princess back to life, but weren't too hard to stop... when you had a weapon.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"We came to find you while you were here in Ponyville. We heard of your departure and arrival and thought it was the best time to stop you." I realized they all held golden swords with a symbol on the pommel that represented the sun, the same as Celestia's cutie mark. I counted them and the number came out to about fifteen. I was fucking boned without help. As I readied my yell for aid I heard a loud thud behind me and I was grabbed by the Pegasus that had flown over head moments before the Lieutenant had stepped out of cover. He was a very large colt, able to hold me and block my mouth and nose with one hand. I couldn't scream, breath or fight and blacked out as they started walking away from the barn.

My eyes opened as I felt the blood pooling around me in the grass of the apple orchard. I scanned the scene and saw the dead bodies of the CR around me. Even the brute was dead, his neck broken and ripped open on the side, letting his blood flow out freely and he hung upside down from a tree. I stood and looked around the trees, looking for what had killed these Ponies and when my eyes laid themselves on her I couldn't help but yelp.

"Rainbow Dash?" I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. I didn't know if she knew what I was planning, especially if the CR knew about it.

"Yup!" She said proudly, smiling at me. She didn't seem mad at me at all.

"Why'd you save me?" Her face turned from the smile to confusion.

"Aren't you glad I saved you?"

"Well, yeah. Just... I don't know... I'm just... groggy." She seemed to buy this and walked over to check on me to make sure I was okay.

"You sure you're alright?" she asked, checking my head for any wounds, which I could be assured there were none. They hadn't hurt me when they captured me, just choked me until I passed out.

"Yeah. Just a bit shaken." I looked at the ground and leaned down to pick up two of the swords with their sheaths, tying them across my back. "I'll take these..."

"What happened to that saw that you're so famous for always using?" She smiled playfully as she asked.

"Kinda lost it..." I lied.

"Thought it was a prized possession. Isn't that what you always said about it?" She laughed as she said this.

"Yeah, it was, but I didn't really choose to lose it." I laughed as well, pretending that it was awkward that I lost it. She smiled back.

"Well, I hope it turns up, or that those work." She motioned towards the swords.

"Yeah, they should do their jobs til I figure something else out. I should probably get back to the barn. Got a big day tomorrow."

"By the way what are you doing here?" Fuck... No idea how to answer this.

"Uh... I..." Her eyes turned to even more confusion, but not suspicious. I thought of something and looked down at the ground defeated. "I... came to propose to Twilight..." I watched as Dash's expression turned to that of ecstatic joy and surprise.

"You're going to ask her to marry you?" I just nodded. "Holy crap! That's great! I'm glad for you!" I smiled sheepishly at her, scratching my head.

"Thanks."

"When are you going to do it?"

"Tomorrow... I seriously need to get some sleep though. Besides being knocked out I haven't slept at all today."

"Then go!" she pushed me towards the barn before turning around herself. "I hope I can be at the wedding." She flew off in the opposite direction and I sighed, relieved that the lie had worked.

"I'm so fucking stupid..." I walked back to the barn and passed right out.

We cleaned up the mess that Dash had left for us with the CR fuckers before the cousins woke up and found them and then we went into town. We came to Twilight's tree house and I looked in the window to see Rainbow sitting there waiting.

"Fucking shit..." They all saw what I saw.

"What is she doing here?" Applejack asked, a bit peeved.

"That would be my fault... when I ran into her last night... I had to lie to her so she didn't suspect us of doing anything... and told her I was going to propose to Twilight today..."

"Well, great! What do we do now?" I thought for a second and then got an idea.

Skyblade flew down from the sky and yelled out: "Where is Rainbow Dash?" We watched from an alley as Rainbow ran out of Twilight's tree house to see what was going on. Sky explained to her that there were problems in Cloudsdale and that they needed her back there now. She instantly flew off towards the sky city. We ran into the tree house.

"What the hell was Dash meaning that you were going to marry me?" Twilight asked, very confused. I sighed.

"Slip of words. Spell now, explanation later. We need to catch that fucked up cloud city while she's still there!" I demanded. Twilight would have been angry if it weren't for the urgency and truth in my words.

The balloon floated through the clouds that made up the city street of Cloudsdale. The town was in a hectic runaround because of Rainbow busting in wondering what was going on and causing everyone else to think that there was something wrong. As they saw me, Pinkie and the Apples step off of the balloon, Sky and Derpy floating above us, they all turned and stopped.

"Citizens of Cloudsdale! My name is Nick!" I shouted. "I am the General of the Guard under King Discord and Queen Luna. These are my Lieutenants, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh and Skyblade. These two lovely ladies are Derpy and the formidable and legendary Pinkie Pie!" I watched their faces turn to amazed terror at the mention of the famous Butcher's name who was said to be dead. A ghost really rallies the spirits of fear. "We've come for one thing today! You are in a panic and that's a good thing!" I turned to face my group. "Kill them all!"

The Pegasi didn't know how to react to this, thinking we might be here to help with whatever problem they were having that they didn't even know about, but as I ran forward, drawing my swords and chopping down Pony after Pony alongside my comrades, they fell into shock for a moment, which let us take down a few more before they started fighting back. Of course this town was under the Guard's protection, just like the rest of Equestria, so they didn't have their own means of fighting. At least not like we did.

We Earth bound cut through all the Ponies that chose to fight us and not flee or were too scared to remember they could fly away. Derpy and Skyblade cut down every single Pony that flew up into the sky, causing them to fall back down to either the cloud city or past it to the ground. You never would have thought that a cloud could be stained with blood, but I knew the ground below would be drenched in blood once this raid was over.

"Skyblade! Apple Bloom! To the Factory!" We all went directly for the factory, killing anything that got in our ways. We came to the big black storm cloud wall that blocked out entry. "Hang on..." I turned around and ran back away from the wall. I came back carrying two writhing Pegasi. I proceeded to throw them at the wall, watching them get shocked and nearly killed, but the wall began to crack, like it was made of solid material. I continued to throw these two at it even after they were long dead. Finally the wall broke down and we ran inside. We were met by the sight of the suited Ponies that inhabited this part of the building. They all held what looked like reinforced cattle prods and I remembered what Derpy said and remembered reading the story back home.

"Good morning, fillies and gentlecolts. My name is Nick..." I held my hands up to stop the two behind me and motioned for them to run past me when I started killing. "... And I'll be your executioner today. Do you have any objections? No? Okay." I charged forward, my swords at my sides. I stabbed the front two through their stomachs with the blades, using my forward momentum to push the swords deeper and through the next two as well, before pulling them out and pushing the bodies back. I jumped back and watched as Skyblade and Apple Bloom both passed me and the rest of these suited fuckers without them even noticing. I smiled insanely. "Next stop... Hell!"

I blocked one of the prods as it was swung down at me, parrying it back and sweeping my leg over about three of theirs, causing the front row to fall to the floor, taking a couple of the next row with them. I stood back up and swung my left sword in an overhand arch at the closest Pony to my left, cleaving his head right off his shoulders. I followed through with a jab with the right one, impaling another one and causing his limp body to fall onto the living that were struggling to get up. I backed up a bit and waited for them to regain their composure. There were only six of them left.

Once they all got back up and into their formation I watched them circle me. I'd always wanted to do this. I slashed at the one directly in front of me, killing him without even the slightest issue. I swung with my left, while turning right and killed the next one clockwise to the first. I then put both swords out straight from me and spun in a windmill attack, either causing a lethal attack or the Pony to fall backwards. The two that fell backwards to dodge the attack were the only ones left. I sheathed my swords and picked up two of the prods. I walked to the one to my left and ripped off her mask, revealing the Pegasus under it. She was scared and unsure of what to do, but didn't have to worry long as I jabbed both of the prods into each one of her eyes. Her body twitched as the electric current flowed into her body. I turned to face the last one. They looked up from their comrade and at me and even through the mask I could tell they were scared. They turned and began to crawl away on all fours.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" I stomped my foot right between their wings, pushing their chest to the floor. I leaned down and ripped off the mask to reveal a colt. He was crying in fright. He had never been out of a position of power. I was sure of this. I kept my foot on his back as I leaned down. "Now I haven't done this in a long time, so hold still please." I grabbed his wings near their bases and pulled as hard as I could. I had gotten stronger since that fight in the tunnel and ripped the wings out without an issue. He screamed in agony and sobbed even harder. I took my foot off of his back and kicked him over. He cringed as the stubs of where his wings used to be touched the floor, but he didn't have time to worry about that as I jabbed the two wings through his shoulders and into the floor. They weren't very sturdily connected muscle wise, but the bones were hard as hell. They pierced into the cloud ground below us and he couldn't drag himself up.

"This is going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me..." I brought my foot up and slammed it onto his chest, hearing the crack of his ribs breaking. Without even letting him scream I lifted my foot up and threw it down again. This time his body made cracking and squishing noises as my leg found itself buried ankle deep into his chest. I ripped it out of his chest and wiped the blood onto his jacket as best I could before I continued down the corridor I had seen the other two go into.

I followed the corridor, killing a few more suited Ponies as they appeared. I came to a large room with a machine in the middle and realized what it was. I looked around for signs of where Sky and AB had gone, but saw none. I heard a powerful voice echo through the room as I stood in it.

"You think you can just destroy the Facility? You and your friends will die here today you fool!" I turned to see a dark red-haired colt standing on a scaffolding a few meters above the floor. He jumped down and landed with a soft thud on the cloud floor. He held a spear-like prod with a lot more reach than the other prods had and the way he held it let me know that he was, in fact, trained well with it. I pulled my swords from their cases on my back and held them at the ready.

"Well, you must be Dr. Atmosphere?" I asked with a smile. He laughed.

"You've heard of me?" He seemed somewhat pleased at that.

"Yeah, you sadistic fuck." My smile faded into a scowl and I solidified my ground. "I'm gonna fucking feed you your wings..." I didn't waste anytime and charged at him. He was expecting it however and swung the spear at me. As it hit the side of my arm I felt the shock rattle my body and fell to the floor writhing in pain. I recovered quickly however and jumped back, shaking it off as best I could. My vision was blurry and I smelled smoke now. I charged forward and the spear made contact with me again, but this time I was able to hold my ground a little better and got a swing off at the doctor. He wasn't expecting it and couldn't dodge and it cut deep into his shoulder.

"You piece of shit!" He stepped forward and kicked me in the head right after I fell to my knees from the shock. I fell on my back with my jaw in massive pain and my skin felt singed. He stood over me now with the spear lifted above his head. "Die!" As he started to swing the spear down at me my vision cleared and I saw the blur that became an arrow sticking out from his eye. It took a second as he registered what happened and then he started screaming, dropping the spear and putting his hands up to his face, not knowing what to do with the bolt in his face. He moved away from me and I stood up and looked in the direction it came from. Apple Bloom stood there with her wrist crossbow and a smile on her face as I smiled back at her. I turned back to the doctor as he tore the bolt out of his eye and the eye came with it.

"GRAAAAAAGH!" He screamed and I took the distraction to close the distance between us and tackled him to the ground. I flipped him over and ripped his wings off, flipped him over again and waited for him to stop screaming and look at me.

"Told you!" and I shoved both the wings, feathered side first into his mouth, choking him and cutting up his throat as well with the bone and feathers. While he choked I stood and stepped on his throat, crushing his wind pipe in a second. "Fuck you... doc." I turned back to Apple Bloom and held out my hands in a hug gesture and she gave me one without a second thought on the blood that covered me.

"Thanks Apple Bloom." I hugged her close with genuine thanks for the act that just saved my life.

"You're welcome, Nick." I put her down.

"Where'd Sky go?" She shrugged.

"We ran into Rainbow Dash and she freaked out, flew off and he flew after her. I don't know where they are right now."

"Come on!" I grabbed her and put her on my back. "Hold on tight." I jumped up and barely grabbed the scaffolding and lifted myself up. I bashed open one of the doors that was even with the platform and ran into the hallway. "This has gotta lead outside..." I ran straight through the hallway until I came to another door. I kicked this one open after stopping, not knowing if it was a drop off or something. It lead to a balcony. I walked over to the ledge and looked down and up. I saw Skyblade and Rainbow Dash now. They were hundreds of feet above the Facility and were basically just dashing around each other, hitting one another when they could. Looked like one of the fighting scenes from Dragon Ball Z. I couldn't tell who was winning though. "You still holding on?" I asked Apple Bloom.

"Yeah..." I jumped off the ledge and she clenched onto my tighter as we fell through the air. Suddenly I felt large body catching me and her from our certain doom. I put Apple Bloom in front of me and told her to hold on as the dragon flew higher into the air.

"We need to give the signal!" The dragon didn't answer back, but instead fired a large fireball into the air that exploded after a bit. This was the warning to the Apples, Pinkie and Derpy to get back to the balloon and get away from Cloudsdale. I watched closely as the Apples and the two black clad Ponies got to their destination and took off. "Fucking destroy this fucking city!" I watched as the dragon drenched the cloud city in fire, dispersing the clouds and killing anything that still resided inside of it. Once the city was gone I turned my attention back to Skyblade and Rainbow Dash. Dash had lost her concentration at the destruction of her prided city. At this point Skyblade took the chance and cut her wings off, causing her to fall quickly. He caught her and flew her quickly to the ground. The dragon followed and We landed and watched the fight.

Skyblade held up his sword and Rainbow now had a mix of sorrowful disinterest and rage. She had lost everything she loved. Her wings were gone and her city was as well. She wasn't who she always had been and we were the ones who took that from her. I tossed her a sword and she looked at me in anger and confusion.

"Thanks for saving me" She showed pure contempt for me, but picked the sword up and got ready to fight Sky.

Sky held his sword at the ready and she took the first chance to attack. She was foolhardy, but of course had nothing to lose now, so she was just nuts. She swung wildly at Skyblade, who blocked each and ever thrust, swing and even kicks that she threw at him. He was calm and collected, but the fire burned in his soul. He got the chance and kicked her knee, breaking it backwards. She wasn't going to be stopped by a broken bone though and kept fighting, pushing herself even more. He continued blocking and when another chance arose he took his sword and cut off her left arm in one fell swing. She growled in anger, but showed no signs of pain. He wasn't expecting her to keep swinging with the same power she had before and took a sword swipe to the shoulder, but he wore his armor. I found it restrictive, but the rest of the Guard chose to wear it. It dented his plate, but did no lasting damage on him and he took the chance to disarm her, by, in fact, dismembering her other arm. At this point he just kicked her down and stood on top of her.

"My name is Yellow Star. You killed my sister, Scootaloo, and you're going to pay for it!" The look of realization came onto Rainbow's face right before the sword pierced her skull, barely missing the direct middle of her head and hitting right at the left side of her nose. It split her skull in half and Sky found himself covered completely in blood, even more so than before. He left the sword embedded there in her head and stared down at it and back up to the now nonexistent city that once floated above these plains. He picked up my sword and returned it to me with a nod. The balloon landed a few hundred meters away and we joined the rest of the group in celebratory congratulations and story swaps on the way home. Even the dragon joined in, sharing how he watched us kill and wondered why he didn't just burn the whole city down at the start, to which I replied: "Where would the fun be in that?" Surprisingly this caused even him to laugh with us.

King Discord and Queen Luna congratulated us as well and reassured us that they had their own set of Pegasi to control the weather and that rainbows would be made in a more kind to the living way, which was by using plants. Didn't make sense to me when they used Ponies, so I didn't question when they started using plants.

The King and Queen had made a royal decree that when a Pegasus fails their test, they are not exiled or killed, but given another attempt or the choice to leave to a place of their choice. I thought that was much kinder and more acceptable.

I found myself in the gardens a few hours later and Pinkie approached me and sat down on the grass next to me. We sat in silence, just watching the clouds roll by. I always loved the clouds. They were beautiful and lighter than air. It was like a dream to be able to be up there with them.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" She said, the small talk sounding funny, causing me to laugh a little.

"Yeah, it is." Across the sky appeared the brightest rainbow that I'd seen in my time in Equestria. "Very beautiful."

"Yup." We sat there staring at the sky, watching the wind push the puffs over the wide expanse of blue. I felt Pinkie's hand on mine after a moment and proceeded to put my arm around her and pull her close to me. She laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. She finally had a true home and true friends again.


	3. Returning Home

I sat in the library, reading a small red book with "Famous Cutie Marks Of Equestria" printed along the spine. I was scanning over the cutie marks and reading some of the stories of the Ponies they had belonged to. Some were very interesting stories and I loved thinking of the ways these Ponies had gotten these magic markings. I scratched my neck as a phantom itch inched into it. I didn't know why, but I always kind of wanted one since I came here. That thought dwindled a bit once I had met Skyblade, who hadn't had his either. But When we had attacked Cloudsdale and he had killed Rainbow Dash his had finally come in. It was a sword piercing a black cloud, showing that he would always fight against the dark forces. I was happy he got it and we had a celebration for him for it, but I felt a bit left out. Of course the Apples didn't have cutie marks either, since they weren't actually Ponies, but I still felt a bit left out.

I closed the book and sat back in the chair, setting my feet on the table. It'd been almost three years since I had arrived here in Equestria. I'd made a lot of friends and had quite a few adventures in that time. I found that as time went on I thought about home less and less. It still saddened me to think that I may never see my home or family or friends again, but this world gave me a new start and I liked what I had done and become here. I closed my eyes and relaxed, letting the sunlight pouring in through the window cover me.

I had decided to come to Ponyville early that morning to meet up with Spike. He had no idea I was coming, but I promised him I'd be back to hang out with him. I had gotten to Ponyville a lot quicker than I had intended, but I wasn't really going to complain. I began my stroll towards Twilight's library when I saw her walking out of it. She noticed me as well as she turned her back to the door.

"Hey, Twilight," I said, waving tiredly to her.

"Good morning, Nick. What brings you to town?"

"Just decided to come visit and was actually wondering if maybe I could get Spike the day off to come hang out with me."

"Sure. He's been anxious to see you again after you left in such a hurry the other day. He'll be thrilled to see you." Her smile was friendly and caring. She loved the little dragon very very much. He was like a son to her. "I just had a lot of errands to run, so I thought I'd get a jump on them now. You can go ahead and wait inside the library if you want. He should be up in a few hours." She walked around to my left as she spoke.

"Alright. Thanks Twi." I waved her goodbye and walked to the door. I opened it slowly and closed it as quietly as possible, not wanting to awaken Spike. In the present I set the chair back on the floor and opened the book again to a random page. I continued to read through it to pass the time, finishing almost all the stories in it in about an hour. I put the book back on the shelf where it had been and stepped back to the table. I laid my head down on it and felt the pressure in my nostrils as I began to sob. It'd been a long time since I had cried and it felt good to release all the emotions that had been backed up in my head. I missed my home and I missed my family. I wanted to see them at least once more. I wished I had been able to tell them goodbye.

I lifted my head up and wiped the tears from my eyes. I had heard some movement upstairs and didn't want Spike to see me crying. I dried my eyes as best I could and sniffled away the mucus that had begun its descent from my nose.

"Twilight? You home?" I heard Spike's voice saying as he walked down the stairs. I sat still at the table for a moment, facing the opposite way of the steps, attempting to get rid of my sorrow and make myself smile. "Twilight!" He half-shouted, his voice going through the whole house with no answer back. I stood and I heard him jump slightly with a yelp. I turned to face him and his expression turned from that of shock and fright to happiness and pleasure. "Nick!" He ran over and hugged me tightly. He had grown a lot since I had first seen him, having gained about three feet in height. He was now equal to my chin with the top of his head. I hugged him back.

"Hey, Spike. I told you I'd be back, didn't I?" I smiled at him as he stepped away to look at me.

"So what do you have planned for today?" I shrugged.

"Nothing." His face turned to displeasure at this, but I smiled to reassure him. "I'm fine with doing anything you want to do." His smiled returned for a moment before his expression turned to contemplation. I waited for his answer.

"Want to go for a hike?" He asked.

"Sure, where to?" He thought for a moment again.

"Whitetail Wood?"

"Sure. Sounds like a plan to me." We packed up some food and began the walk to to Pony controlled woods. It was a very lovely area and I wondered why I had never been there before. We walked along the trails that the Ponies used to knock down the leaves during The Running of The Leaves every Autumn. We continued pretty far into the trees before we sat up on some rocks to eat. We had brought some apples and a bit of bread, but I had also brought Spike some treats of his own.

"Here." I took my money pouch off my side and threw it to him. He caught it looked at me with confusion. I waved my hands at him. "Go ahead. There's a gift in there for you." He opened it up and rummaged around inside of it before pulling out a handful of gemstones. A large smile crossed his face and he looked up at me. "I got them on a trip to the Griffon Kingdoms. Found a large vein of them and made sure some of my men got them out. Sent most of them to Rarity, but kept those ones for you. Hope they're to your liking." I smiled playfully at him.

"Thank you!" He took a bite out of one and I could instantly tell he liked them. "They're delicious!"

"I'm glad you think so. Rarity's letter made me think she was pretty pleased with them as well." He looked at me again, this time a question in his eyes.

"How is Rarity doing?" He didn't seem to have the same crush he had had on her, but I'm sure that had dwindled in the time since Rarity had moved to Canterlot years ago.

"I really don't know. Haven't spoken to her directly or even seen her in a while. As far as I know she's taken to a life of seclusion. Maybe I'll have to visit her when I get back to Canterlot or something." I looked at the tree leaves above me as I felt a feeling of familiarity to the thought of Rarity going into seclusion. I shook it off though, not being able to put my finger on it.

"Huh. Well I hope she's doing alright." I patted his head at his concern for his old friends.

"Everything kinda changed in the past years huh? There were the issues with Pinkie, Rarity and Sweetie Belle moved to Canterlot, The Apples are usually up in Canterlot with me and Rainbow Dash is dead. Twilight and Fluttershy are the only ones really still around here in Ponyville aren't they?" He nodded sadly.

"I just miss the old days." He stared at the gemstone in his hands, running his claws over it. I could really understand his feelings. I missed the old days of my life as well, back when there were only the simple issues of what to do the next day and never really having too much to worry about. I looked over at Spike and recognized the sadness in his eyes. Sure, he still had friends, but his best friends of years had all but abandoned him and he felt lonely. I now understood why he always looked forward to my visits. It always brought some kind of happiness to him to have a bit of variation.

"Hey. I got something that'll cheer us both up." I walked over to my bag and pulled out two assembly-required wooden swords. I saw the smile return to his face as he realized what this meant. He loved training in sword play. He even hoped to one day join the Guard and become a soldier under me. I tossed him the pieces for one of the swords as I began to put mine together. Once we were both ready we got into position. "Ready?" He nodded to me. "En garde!"

I swung the sword overhead and brought it down to be blocked by his. He parried it back and swung his sword at my midsection, but I jumped back and swung mine down again. He side stepped and lunged forward, attempting to drive his blade into my chest. I spun left around his blade so I was standing on his right side. I brought my elbow up and slammed it against his forehead. He was stunned for a second, but quickly regained his thoughts and twisted his body around, curving his sword in a clockwise motion at about neck height. I blocked it easily and stepped forward and headbutted him in the snout. He stepped backwards and I stood taller, readying my sword again. He put his hand up to his nose and looked at the blood that was now pouring from it. His expression took on anger as he charged at me again swinging downward. I smacked it away from its target with the palm of my left hand and brought the same hand up into his stomach in a fist. I grabbed his shoulder and stepped towards him, bringing my knee up into his gut, adding more pain. I then spun around to his back and brought the pommel of the sword down on the back of his head. He fell onto his front unconscious. I sat down next to him and waited for him to wake up.

"Nick..." He sounded drowsy, which was understandable.

"I'm here buddy."

"How long have I been out?"

"About twenty minutes. You feeling alright?"

"Been better." He sat up and put his hand on his head.

"Sorr-" He held up his hand to stop me.

"Don't say it." He smiled at me, but winced painfully. "I'll never be a good soldier if I can't fight. I'll win against you some day!" He smiled brightly at me and I saw the determination in his eyes. I patted his head.

"With that attitude? Hell yeah!" He laughed and winced a bit more at the pain.

"Come on. Let's get back to town and fix up your nose, eh?" He nodded and we began our journey back to Ponyville. As we approached the town I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. "Rainbow Dash's house is still up there?"

"Yeah. Usually if a cloud home is left unoccupied the Cloudsdale Ponies will come and reclaim it, but since they're not able to now, it's just sat there."

"Huh..." I noticed that the cloud home no longer had the rainbow falls pouring out of it. It seemed a bit darker now than when I had first seen it. "I'll have to check it out sometime. Maybe there's crap in there I need to report to the king and queen. Come on. I'm sure Twilight knows how we can fix you up." We got to the tree house a few minutes later and walked inside. Twilight was in the library and looked over to see us and she instantly became motherly.

"What happened Spike!" She rushed over and began tending to him.

"Well, while we were in Whitetail Woods we were attacked by a bear. Nick and me were running and I slammed into a tree." I shook my head, smiling at the lie.

"That's not at all what happened Spike. Don't lie to her." He looked at me with confusion and worry in his eyes.

"What really happened?" Twilight asked Spike. He looked at her then me.

"Go ahead. I'll take what's coming to me." He turned back to her again.

"Me and Nick were sparring and he beat me down." She looked at me with anger in her eyes and I knew that I was in danger of getting hurt now, but Spike stopped her. "Please. Don't. I'm alright with it." She looked at Spike and the anger disappeared from her expression.

"I'm sorry about beating him up Twilight, but he's told me he wants to be a soldier. If that's the case, I'm going to train with him like I train with the rest of my soldiers." Twilight's anger came back.

"He's not a soldier! He's a young dragon! You shouldn't beat him up like this!" She had tears in her eyes as she told me this.

"Twilight. I want to be a soldier! I want to help Equestria!" He told her, begging for my forgiveness and to not blame me for helping him achieve his dreams. She realized she could yell and hate the idea all she wanted, but it wouldn't change a thing.

"You need to be more careful then." She hugged him lovingly and I smiled softly at the sweetness of the moment.

"I will get better so I don't get hurt up as much, I promise!" Even Twilight laughed at his dream and the determination that drove them. They embraced again.

"Well we should really get your nose fixed up, come on." They stepped into the next room and I heard a book open on the table and a few seconds I heard a loud snap and a scream as Twilight reset Spike's nose. I waited until Spike was sent back out of the other room and told to go upstairs and rest. He nodded and went up to his room. Twilight looked over to me.

"You need anything else?" She didn't sound angry or anxious to get me out, but I could tell she wasn't expecting me to still be there.

"Just need to ask you a favor."

"What is it?"

"I need you to cast the cloud walking spell once more. I need to get up to Rainbow Dash's house and look around." She looked a bit surprised at the request, but I could tell she'd oblige.

"What do you think is up there?" She asked.

"I don't know. Just thought it'd be best if I looked around just to make sure rather than leave something up there that might be vital later on, you know?" She nodded and began to look for the book with the spell in it. After a moment she plopped it down on the table, opened up to the right page and began casting it again. I watched as the purple magic swirled around her horn and felt the familiar affects on my body again. "Thanks Twilight. I'll repay you somehow."

"No need. Thank you for being such a good friend to Spike... And me. I'm glad to have met you, Nick." She hugged me unexpectedly. It took me a moment to get my mind around the situation before I hugged her back.

"Of course, Twilight. I'm glad to have met you two too." I felt her sobs before I even heard them. Just like Spike she was wracked by the pain of losing her friends. She knew that Pinkie was alive, but after knowing what she had done Twilight chose not to talk to her unless she had to. Rainbow's death meant she'd never see her again either and just like Spike she hadn't been in contact with Rarity or Applejack all that much either. I didn't know how often she saw Fluttershy, but only having two of her closest friends left really wore on her. I let her cry into my embrace for as long as she liked.

"I'm so sorry..." She sniffled and hiccuped, wiping the tears from her face. I leaned forward and kissed her forehead beside her horn.

"Don't be. I'm here for you no matter what, alright?" I smiled gently. "You and Spike are my best friends. If you ever need me, you know you just need to send a letter or get a hold of me anyway you can and I'll come running to help out." She smiled and embraced me again, this time more tears and sobs came from her, but this time they were of happiness in a reliable friend. I hugged her again and we stood there for a good ten minutes before she let me go.

"Thank you, Nick." I put a hand on her cheek and wiped away a few tears that had been cascading down it.

"No need to thank me. You being my friend is all the thanks I need." She laughed softly before kissing my cheek and hugging me for one more time.

"That's sweet, but still, Thank you so much for everything." I chuckled.

"You're welcome, Twilight. Stay safe alright?" She nodded and I turned to walk out the door. The sun was high in the sky now and the town was busy. It was time to visit Rainbow Dash's old home. I had to find my way up he cloud house, of course. My first thought had been to use the hot air balloon like we had to get to Cloudsdale, but it was clear the hell back in Canterlot at the moment. I could call the dragon, but in the late afternoon that would scare more of the civilians than I think would really be worth the effort. As I rattled my brain I noticed a group of Colts, all Pegasi, and decided that I could ask them for help. When I asked them if they'd be willing to drop me off up at the cloud home, they agreed with a little confusion. Two grabbed each of my arms and they lifted me up into the air. It was uncomfortable, but it worked. They planted me on the temporary solid cloud and when they noticed I was able to walk on it they let me go.

"Thanks." I nodded to them and they nodded back before flying back to the ground to continue with what they were doing. I turned and walked into the beautiful home. It was decorated in lovely colors, which reflected Dash very well. I searched through the house, finding only normal items for cooking in the kitchen and seats and such in the living room. I continued up the stairs into the second floor, where I found two bedrooms. One was clearly a guest room, being barely furnished with a bed made of clouds, of course, and the other was Rainbow Dash's room. She had posters of the Wonderbolts pinned up all over the room and it made me smile a bit to see the whimsical side of Dash.

I searched through her drawers, most of which were empty. The bottom drawer however held a little black book with a lock on it and a quill and ink well. I picked the book up, attempting the lock once to see if it was loose enough to open, which it wasn't. I took the book and headed back to the kitchen, where I took a knife and cut the leather strap that kept the book closed. I opened it and read:

"I decided to buy this journal and write in it, just in case something happens. I'm not really sure why I felt it was necessary to write down everything in here, but I just feel like it's right. Maybe I'll get to see my Dad again..."

"What?" Was all I could say as I stopped reading for a moment to process this. Dad? I continued reading.

"I hate killing those poor little kids. They don't deserve to die just because they failed their test!" Compassion? If she hated it why did she do it? "I just miss my Daddy so much!" I noticed now that there were tear stains on the page. She had been crying when she wrote this. "When I was brought back by Celestia and the rest of the group I think I got lost. In this world I'm not a pony like I had been when I was on Earth. I'm a human like my father. They were all humans here, but they still talked like they were ponies... I don't get it." It clicked now and I laid the book on the kitchen counter and walked away for a second.

"No... It fucking can't be... It's not possible..." I turned and picked the book back up again.

"I was a little kid again, this time I remembered everything though. Thanks to my learning how to fly back on Earth with my Dad I was ready for my test. I aced it and did the Sonic Rainboom how I was supposed to, like in the TV show. When I was about to leave the coliseum I was approached by a red-haired man and two masked people. The red-haired one called himself Doctor Atmosphere. He explained that he wanted my help in creating the perfect rainbow. I denied him, not wanting to stick around him. He stopped me and asked me if there was anything he could do to change my mind. I told him that the only way I'd want to help him is if he could get me back to my Daddy. He said he could and I foolishly believed him."

"Good... Gods..." I couldn't believe this.

"I worked with them, stupidly under the hopes that they would be able to get me back home to my father. I had been given a sliver of hope and I was clinging onto it with all my might. I wanted to see my Daddy again, no matter what. I killed the poor little fillies and colts to make the rainbows and the scientists and Atmosphere kept telling me that they were getting closer to finding my way home. I still cling to the hope that maybe they'd find a way or I'd find a way." The page ended there. I went through about ten empty pages before I found words again.

"Nick..." This one was about me? "Who is he? He doesn't seem like he belongs here. He's taken control over the castle and killed Celestia. I feel a burden has been lifted from my shoulders, but now I hate the senseless killing even more. Dammit! I wish they'd hurry and get me back home!" Another few pages before the words appeared again.

"It's been years since I even opened this journal. Atmosphere showed me what he thought could be a portal back home to Earth. Hope rose in my heart again for the first time since I was a filly. I really hope this isn't a dream."

"Nick's going to ask Twilight to marry him tomorrow! This week's the best week ever! I hope they get married before I go home to meet my Dad." This was the last entry. We had killed her the day after this was written. I felt the tears welling in my eyes as I realized we had killed an innocent under pretense of murderous intent. She had only wanted to go home, she had never wanted to kill the Ponies she did and it had burdened her so. She didn't put in here how much it hurt her, but I could almost feel like that was the truth. When we had burned the city and Sky had cut off her wings, the anger hadn't been for the loss of her proud home or Sky taking what she treasured most. The anger had been because of a shattered dream and a broken hope. She had lost everything, even more than I had thought. I clutched the book in my hands, slamming my eyes shut to attempt to stay the flow of tears, but failed horribly. I felt the slight movement as my tears fell onto the paper in my hand and I opened my eyes.

I was staring down at three papers stapled together. It was a list of things that I needed to take pictures of before the deadline on the top. I, surprised, looked around the room. I was back home in my apartment in Salt Lake City on Earth.

"What the fucking hell?" I asked myself as I looked over the bland room. How the hell did I get back home? Was it all some kind of dream? I looked back down at the assignment paper. I had been a photographer before I had gone to Equestria. I was given a list of pictures to take around my city and the surrounding areas for things like magazines, newspapers, and what have you. I threw it onto my nightstand, not really caring about it right now. I noticed my phone sitting next to where I had thrown it. "What time is it?" I picked up the phone and opened it to see that I had about thirty unheard messages and even more texts, almost all from my brother, Wilhelm. As I closed the notifications down I looked at the time and the date and my jaw dropped. "Mar... March twentieth? But that means...?" It had been almost three months since I had been taken away from this world. What in the hell was going on?

"Guess it's best if I call Will and see what the fuck is going on." I opened the phone and pushed send twice, seeing my brother was the only one who called me thirty times a day. It rang a few times before I heard the pickup.

"Hello?" His voice sounded so pleasing. I never thought I'd hear it again.

"Will?" I asked, knowing it was him, but I didn't know what else to say.

"Nick? Why the heck haven't you been answering your phone?" He half-screamed into the phone as he asked me this. Apparently I had lead my life the same as normal while I was gone, seeing as I had a new assignment and my house was clean. But apparently I didn't have time to answer my phone or texts at the time.

"Sorry, man. Been damn busy." I said, not sure if that was a plausible excuse or not. The easing up in his voice let me know it was.

"I guess it's alright, but still! I've called you like every minute for the past month."

"Can see that. Sorry about that, I kinda forget to take my phone with me when I leave home." I walked over to the mirror as I spoke. I looked the same as I had in Equestria, clothes and all, but there was only one way to know for sure. I pulled my jacket off my right shoulder and lifted the undershirt sleeve up to see the deep scar that was still there from when Pinkie had almost sawn my arm off. It now solidified that I had been in the other world.

"Well, dammit! You need to make sure you have it more! I've been trying to fucking call you and tell you that Mom is dying!" Everything went dead silent except for the explosive sound of the phone falling to the floor and landing on the carpet. I stood stalk still as I looked myself over in the mirror, thinking of my brother's words just now. My mother was dying? I snapped back to reality and scrambled to get my phone.

"Will?" I said, putting it to my ear.

"I'm here." Was all he said.

"What's going on with her?"

"We'll email you some plane tickets and you're going to have to fly back to Miami. We'll talk here, alright?" He sounded serious and in pain. I felt for my little brother. He was only sixteen and this was probably going to hurt him a lot more than me. The only death he's ever had to deal with were our father's.

"Alright. I promise I'll be out there, alright?"

"Okay. I'll see you when you get here." I hung up the phone and put it in my pocket. I had no idea what to do and I simply sat down on the bed and stared at the floor. I couldn't think straight. There was so much that I had to think about. I couldn't take my mind off of everything that had happened today... or was it today? I didn't know what to call what had happened since I had woken up back in Equestria. I was so confused.

I felt the sickness in my stomach rising as I realized that if Equestria had been fake, or I couldn't go back I had lost my friends there forever and my mind connected that my mother was dying and I coughed painfully, much like I did when I was becoming depressed and sick. My coughs increased in frequency and power over the next few minutes until I was in my bathroom vomiting everything in me until I began puking up blood. I finally stopped and flushed the toilet, walking out into the living room and plopped down on the wheeled chair in front of my computer. I opened my email and found my brother's email. I opened it, printed out the tickets and sat down on my couch. The tickets were for two days from now, so I had some time to just sit down and rest. I closed my eyes and attempted to sleep, but my mind kept jumping around over every little thing that had happened and I realized I couldn't sleep and rolled off the couch.

"I need to go on a walk." I felt my keys in my pocket and walked out the door. Instead of taking the elevator like I usually would I began my descent down the stairs. The only sound that I heard for the next few minutes was the silence and my boot steps. I didn't know what to think, so I focused on the noise of my foot falls until I reached the lobby. As I walked through the doors into the slightly busy street I heard the noises of the world and it calmed me. I walked through the streets and watched as the sky turned to rain. I loved rain more than any other weather. It was more calming and pleasant than anything else. I sat on a bench, letting the sky drench me.

I heard a light sound, something that didn't quite fit in with the rain. I looked to my left and saw a cardboard box, drenched and breaking. There was no way... I quickly walked over to it and peered inside to see a little puppy shivering in the cold. I sighed at the sight of the natural Earth animal. I knelt down and lightly touched its head. It peered up and me and growled, biting at my hand. I didn't flinch, pull my hand back or even make a noise when its undeveloped teeth clung to my hand. I let it bite me for a moment, softening my features to let it know I meant no harm. The little thing was scared, but when it realized I wanted to help it let go of my hand, gently licked it twice and went back to shivering. I took my jacket off and wrapped it around it, picking it up. It was scared, but I talked it down to the point that it just shuffled a bit to get more comfortable and soon relaxed and fell asleep. I felt the pang of familiarity and my mind jumped back to Rainbow Dash. I felt the tears coming on again as I walked back to my apartment.

We arrived back at my home and I walked over to the couch and laid the poor little thing down. I sat down next to it and petted it to calm it down as it became used to the unfamiliar room. I picked it up and laid down, putting it on my chest, where it finally fell asleep. I fell asleep an hour or so later.

"Here ya go," I cooked up some sausage I had in the freezer and tossed it in a bowl, placing it on the floor. "Eat up. You'll need the strength." The toast popped out of the toaster and I grabbed it, taking a bite out of it. I walked over and turned on my TV, resting my feet on the table in front of me. I didn't know what was on, and I really didn't care, but I just wanted to find something. As I scanned through the channels I heard a familiar voice come through the speakers.

"Where's Pinkie Pie! Here I am!" I stopped for a second, absorbing the cartoon for its worth. This voice had once been a herald of fear and pain for me and then years later became a friendly voice once again, but it had been all too real. Now I sat, listening to the voice I had grown to know in reality, reduced to a kid's cartoon. I don't know why, but my anger boiled at this and I stood sharply. I heard the dog's paws scratch on the floor as it jumped and skidded in fear of me. If it hadn't been for the little puppy's fear I would have put my fist through the television, but I stopped and looked at it, hiding in the corner of my kitchen. I turned the TV off and walked over to it slowly. I knelt down a few feet away and held out my hand.

"I promise you, I'm not going to hurt you." It didn't move, but looked at me with fearful eyes. "I promise. I got mad for no reason. I'm better now." The little dog looked at me and slowly stood, inching towards me. I didn't move or make a sound until it licked my hand and I moved my hand up to pet its head. "Now eat up. I gotta get you a good home before I leave tomorrow." After it ate its food it walked over and cuddled up next to me on the couch. I felt kinda bad getting even this close to it, just to leave it behind. Oh well, maybe I'd just find it a sitter until I got back from Miami. I didn't really think I'd be going back to Equestria anytime soon.

"I should at least figure out what gender you are..." I looked over at it. It was peering up at me, questioningly. I lifted it up and peered under its belly, putting it down quickly after that. I never did like doing things like that to animals. I patted his head. "Good boy." I tuned the channels until I found something stupid and easy to watch and we spent the majority of the day watching said stupid shows.

I finally got up and he followed as I walked through the hallways, knocking on the doors and asking my neighbors if they'd be willing to watch my dog til I got back. Of course I hadn't really talked to many of them so they all said no. No one on my floor was willing to take the poor little guy til I got back.

"Dammit... what now?" I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and took it out. I didn't know the number, but it had a name on it. "Who the hell is Brian?" I flipped it open and pushed the send button. "Hello?"

"Hey, Nick. Sorry I haven't talked to you much, just been dealing with some stuff."

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit tired. Who is this?" I was a horrid liar right now.

"It's Brian." Nothing new. "You know, the guy who lives three floors directly below you? I just moved in a couple months ago?" I remembered talking to him once. Apparently I was his friend now.

"Ah, right. What's up man?" Didn't know how formal or informal we were, but whatever.

"I heard you have a little dog that needs watching?"

"Yeah. Where'd you hear that?"

"Word travels fast through these paper thin walls." Huh... that works I guess.

"Alright, so you'll watch him?"

"Sure. I love dogs. Any idea what kind he is?" I looked down at him and couldn't really discern any breed.

"He's a mutt."

"Ah. Well come on over and I'll get a comfy place for him."

"Alright. Thanks man."

"Yeah, no prob." He hung up and I looked down at the dog.

"Wanna stay with Brian?" I didn't get any type of answer out of him, but we went down the stairs to Brian's apartment. I knocked on his door and he opened it with a smile on his face. He looked down and saw the puppy and was instantly doing that baby talk thing that people do to animals for some reason. The puppy seemed mildly amused.

"Come on in." We walked inside and the puppy looked around the familiar room setting, but different furniture before jumping up on Brian's couch and sleeping. Brian didn't seem to mind at all.

"You sure you wanna watch him while I'm gone? I'm not sure how long I'm going to be out of town."

"Yeah, it's absolutely no problem." His smile was reassuring, but I could see a sense of loneliness in it. I remembered him a bit better now. He had apparently lived out in some city a few miles away from here that was renovated for some big ass company. If I remember the rumors I heard before I left, he had owned a small house way out in some plain or something, but decided to move here after something like his daughter died or something like that. I sat down on the opposite side of the couch to the dog, not wanting to rouse him. "You want something to drink?"

"Sure, some water would be nice, thanks."

"No problem." He walked into his kitchen and I heard him rattling around in his cupboards for some cups. I looked down at the side table and my curiosity got the best of me and I pulled the drawer out. I think when I picked up the little photo album was when he walked into the room and I heard the plastic cups hit the floor and the water splashed everywhere. I'm sure he yelled something, but I wasn't in the thought process to listen as I opened up the book and saw a picture that made my heart stop. There he was, Brian, holding the little Rainbow Dash in his arms, both of them with large smiles on their faces. He grabbed the book and tore it out of my hands and moved away from me. I looked up at him and knew that he could see the tears growing in my eyes. He was ready to lie and yell and anything to stop me from questioning what the pictures were, but when he saw the tears he knew I would do no such thing.

"Nick?" He asked just my name, but it held so much more behind it. I hung my head in sorrow and I pointed for him to sit down next to me.

"Brian... If I had known, I wouldn't have come here. I'm here now though, and I need to tell you a story... something that you're not going to believe and might just damn well hate me for just saying, but you need to know..."

I shared with him who I was in the other world and summarized what I had been through in my time in Equestria. He didn't believe a word I was saying, but I promised him it was all true. I think when I started crying as I explained he realized I wasn't playing around. This wasn't some kind of sick joke. I told him bits and pieces of the years after the Butcher's defeat and then came the hard part. I had to explain to him in reverse what happened. I told him about how I had gone to Rainbow's cloud house and found her journal explaining that she was in the wrong world and that she missed her Dad and how Doctor Atmosphere had given her hope, but at a terrible cost. I watched as the realization set in that this was his daughter that had done these horrible acts that I was telling him about. Now the hardest part came as I told him about the raid on Cloudsdale and Skyblade's brutal fight with Rainbow. As I told him in detail, every little thing that had happened, he became angry. When I finished telling him about how she died because she wanted to see him again he stood and punched me in the jaw. I fell from the couch and heard the dog bark in fright.

"You're lying!" He yelled at me, tears in his eyes. He knew I wasn't, but he didn't want to accept it. I could understand, I wouldn't want to accept it either.

"No, I promise you. Every word I've said is truth. I'm sorry Brian." I could barely see him through my own tears.

"Get the hell out!" He pointed at the door. I stood and walked to it, the dog followed.

"Brian... I know it's a bad time to ask, but please, will you keep this dog safe? I'm not sure if I'm even coming back." He looked at me and then at the dog.

"Yeah. I'll watch him." His voice was calmer now. He would take good care of the puppy and that made me happy. I looked down to the patiently waiting dog.

"You're going to stay with Brian, puppy. He's your new friend, alright?" The dog was more intelligent than I gave it credit for and looked at me with confusion and then over to Brian and back. "I promise, he'll take good care of you." I patted his head and turned, walking out the door and closing it behind me. It hurt to leave the little guy behind and hear his barking for me to come back. I may have only known the puppy for a night, but I hadn't had a pet since I was young and it really connected with my heart. Brian needed him though, having heard the news of his daughter's demise was a horrid experience that I couldn't comprehend or even begin to fathom. He'd need all the positive help he could get.

I arrived at the airport at about ten o'clock on the twenty-second, a good two hours before I had to be there. I lounged around for a bit, just thinking a few more things over. I'd finally gotten my head straight and now focused solely on the shit going on on Earth. I sipped the coffee and bit the cupcake I bought from one of the stores in the airport. I realized that I had just eaten a cupcake and laughed quietly before continuing to read the newspaper to catch up on the shit that had been going on here while I was gone. Nothing truly new or informational came up, but it felt good to read something I truly did comprehend rather than something to do with Ponies or their world. I laid the paper down and sat back in the chair and looked around the hustle and bustle that was the airport. I had grown used to the oddities of Equestria and the surrounding world that this all seemed so strange to me now. Normal people with normal jobs and no random marks on their neck to tell you what said job was.

I watched the passing people for the hours that I needed to kill and then I found myself on my plane. I was lucky enough to get a window seat and enjoyed the sight of the plane taking off and the passing clouds. My mind drifted back to Equestria and, of course, Cloudsdale. These thoughts lead to everything with Rainbow Dash and I felt the tears showing up in my eyes again. I had only read that story once and I never once thought that maybe it had been someone's online diary of the occurrence hidden as a fan fiction or something, let alone would I meet the poor person that had taken care of the blue Pegasus. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and closed the window blinder, sitting my seat back and trying to relax. I tossed and turned and fidgeted and so on until the little girl that was sitting next to me spoke.

"Are you okay?" I looked over to her and past her to the aisle seat where her mother sat asleep and back to the youngling.

"Yeah." I didn't know if it was a lie or truth.

"You look like you can use a friend." I didn't know what to say as she thought for a second and then reached into her under seat baggage and pulled out a little doll. She held it up to me and I realized what it was. "Here! You can have my Pinkie Pie doll! She's my favorite and always makes me laugh!" She held it out to me and I reached out and took it. Why this didn't rouse the anger that the show had, I didn't really know, but I took the doll and smiled at it and to the girl.

"She's my favorite too. Thanks." The tears in my eyes came again, but this time in happiness. This little girl and the puppy had been my two rays of sunshine since I had come home. I patted the little girl's head and she smiled at me before turning and going to sleep herself. I truly was happy because of just the gift and the friendship this little girl had shown me. I took the doll and placed it in my bag before pulling out a pen and piece of note paper and writing on it: "Thank you for your kindness. You've brought a smile to an old, hardened face. Sincerely, Nicolai Imbartan." I placed it in the small visible pocket on her bag and leaned my seat back down to sleep.

I stepped out of the terminal and went past the security check points to the baggage check. I had gotten out into the aisle before the little girl and her mother had awoken and I lightly shook the mother awake to let her know we had landed. She thanked me and turned to wake her daughter, which is when I took my leave. I went to the bottom of the escalators and picked up my bags from the rotating baggage check thing before heading towards the door. I went outside and found a cab, started loading my items into the trunk when I heard a voice. I don't know why I thought it was directed at me, but it made me turn my head.

"Hey, you!" The voice was friendly and welcoming. I turned to see the woman I had sat next to on the plane and her daughter jogging towards me. "Are you the guy who left this note with her?" She seemed more pleased with the situation rather than angry, which surprised me a bit.

"Yeah." I answered simply.

"Well, Tina wanted to say something to you." She looked down to the little girl who was smiling at me.

"You're welcome!" She hugged my legs and I blinked for a second, not really sure how to react, but I knelt down and hugged her back. I pulled away and ruffled her hair, smiling at the adorable child.

"So, you visiting or heading home?" The mother asked.

"Kinda both. Going to visit my old house and see my brother and mom." I answered.

"Well, you want a ride? I'll be more than willing to give you one."

"Sure." I took my bag back out of the cab and followed the two to a white minivan. The mother opened the back compartment and we tossed our luggage in there. Tina sat in the back seat and I climbed into the passenger seat. The mother climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. I explained where I was heading and she began driving that way. It was a couple hours away, but she didn't seem too angry about going so out of the way to help some random stranger who did nothing for her. She turned and looked back to Tina, who was now asleep and turned back to me.

"I just wanted to say thanks."

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"Well, Tina's had a lot of trouble. A few years ago her parents were both killed in a car accident and it left her alone with me." She wasn't her mother. Well, shit around me is full of twists. "She didn't take kindly at first to be with her aunt all the time and wanted to know where her mom and dad had gone, so I decided to tell her. After a bit she started shunning the world and becoming more and more reclusive. Lately she doesn't try to talk with strangers and even when she does they usually ignore her and tell her to go away or leave them alone or something like that." She peaked back at the sleeping child before speaking again. "And thanks to your kind words and actually giving her the time to talk and listening I think she might be able to open up again. So thank you." I understood now, at least as best I could.

"You're welcome, but there's no need to thank me. Human kindness goes a long way. That's something my mother taught me when I was a kid." I hadn't really shown much of that since I had left Earth behind, but I wasn't going to bring that up.

"Well she sounds like an amazing woman."

"She is. Makes me very sad to think that her time has been shortened." She looked at me in surprise and I realize I hadn't said that my mother was dying, just that I was visiting.

"Is something wrong with her?" She was concerned now.

"Yeah. I don't know much about it, but she's really sick. That's why I'm coming out to see my family. I want to make sure I can tell her how much I love her before she passes on." She smiled sadly as I said these words.

"You really do have a good heart." That's something I haven't heard in a long time.

"Thanks." Was all I could think to say. We drove in silence until we came to the gate that lead to the large estate that my father had bought all those years ago when me and Will had been very young. When he passed away we stayed out of pride for what our father had given us.

"This is the place?" She asked as we pulled up.

"Yup. Home sweet home."

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah. Really is when you see it for the first time." I opened the door and stepped out into the cool air, feeling the slight breeze. I pulled out my pen and notepad and scribbled another letter to Tina and handed it to her aunt. "This is for her. Tell her I'll always cherish her gift and I'll never forget her." The woman nodded at me and took the paper. I closed the door and they drove off back out of the path to the large iron gate. I watched them drive away until they were out of sight and wiped the tear on my cheek. I turned and pushed the intercom button that buzzed to the security desk inside the house. A voice I hadn't heard before spoke back.

"Who is it?" He sounded impatient.

"Nicolai Imbartan. I've come to see my brother and my mom." There weren't anymore words spoken from the intercom, but a loud buzzing and the moving gate let me know that I was allowed inside. As I walked over the paved road that went to the house I saw the front door open and a familiar figure glided towards me, followed by his large shadow.

"Ah, Nicky, how long it's been." Wallace said, his sadistic grin almost unbearable.

"Don't call me 'Nicky,' you bastard!" Only two people were ever allowed to call me that and that was my mother and father.

"Aw! Did I strike a nerve?" Wallace taunted me. He had married my mother three years after our father's death when I was ten and Will was eight. I had always despised Wallace, as had Will and even my mother. Wallace was cruel and selfish and only really married my mom for rights to the estate and money that she had, but he never got.

"Your ugly mug strikes a nerve every time I fucking see it!" I said through clenched teeth. His smile grew larger. I knew he enjoyed seeing me angry, but unlike Will, I didn't try to hold back my anger.

"You really are pathetic, you know that? You've got nothing in there but blind rage and stupidity." He pushed past me, bumping my shoulder with his. That pushed me over the edge and I spun around, grabbed his arm and was promptly lifted off the ground at my throat by his overgrown bodyguard. "See? Exactly what I mean. I think it's time we teach you a lesson. Taks, bloody him up."

I felt the punch as it landed on my cheek. His other hand let me go and I was thrown across the driveway, skidding across the paved road for a foot or so before stopping. I stood back up much quicker than during any of the other beatings Taks had given me when I was younger. I readied myself for the fight and heard Wallace laugh.

"You think you can fight? I know you haven't done any training of the sort! You're just a photographer with no talent!" Seems Big Brother has been keeping his eye on me. I charged forward towards Taks and punched him in the jaw, but was quickly dispatched again with a backhand from the brute. I rose again, not going to give up this time like all the others. I wished I had my swords or even my saw with me and he'd be dead as hell. He reminded me of the large Pegasus that had grabbed me back on Sweet Apple Acres the night I had been kidnapped by Pinkie and Silver. I shook the thought away, remembering that I had to be saved by Rainbow Dash. I ran forward again and buried a punch into Taks' hard abs, not affecting him at all as he picked me up and threw me down on the ground. I heard my bones crack as I hit the ground, but only just cracked. I rolled away from his stomping foot as it slammed where my ribs would have been and jumped to my feet. I had to hit harder! That's when I remembered my hand to hand training had never been to use my fists, but to use my kicks. I shifted my stance to my apple bucking stance and readied myself again.

I moved forward slowly, looking Taks over for his weak spot. When I got close enough I spun around on the ball of my left foot and brought the heel of my right foot into his temple. He stumbled a bit and I lowered my foot back to the ground slowly to not stress it too much, I had torn a couple muscles by moving too fast after kicking during apple buck season and made myself slow down as to not do it again. As my foot settled on the ground I stepped two quick steps towards the gargantuan and brought my right knee up to my chest before rocketing my foot into his stomach, knocking him down to the ground. I put my right foot back on the ground and lifted my left up and dropped it like a hammer onto his head. I felt a my foot suddenly stop and realized that Taks had grabbed it before it had connected. He stood, still holding my leg, causing me to stumble and hop around to keep my balance. He turned and twisted his body, swinging me over my shoulder like a bag and he let me go a bit after the arc started coming down. I slammed into the ground a few feet away and felt my ribs give in a bit. I heard his footsteps on the road behind me but he was stopped by Wallace.

"Leave him Taks. I think he's learned his lesson." He laughed and I heard them walk away. I laid on the ground for a good couple minutes, attempting to move around the pain that was now coursing through my torso. I pushed myself up onto my knees and elbows and coughed a few times, cringing at the pain. After a moment I got used to the pain enough that I could stand and walk. I grabbed my suitcase and walked towards the house.  
>I came to the door and rang the doorbell, hearing the first twenty seconds of Beethoven's 5th playing through the doorbell chimes, much like it always had since I was very young. I heard the footsteps approaching the door and it swung open to reveal a man wearing a suit. He held back his smile as he saw me, but I didn't hold mine back.<p>

"Good to see you again Edgar." Edgar was probably my best friend. He was our family's butler and had worked for us for as long as I could remember and longer before that. He held his hands behind his back, his fingers linked together. He kept his posture straight and unrelenting and his face was struggling to stay emotionless.

"Good to see you as well Master Nicolai." He said in the best monotone voice he could keep up.

"Please don't call me Master Nicolai, Edgar. Call me Nick." I smiled wider at him.

"I apologize Master Nick." His lips began turning up.

"No! Get rid of Master. Just call me Nick!" I was grinning ear to ear now and so was he. This was a quarrel we had every time we saw each other after a while, or every morning when I was younger.

"Sorry, Nick." I moved forward with my hands outstretched and he moved his from behind him and embraced me as well. "I've missed you, boy."

"I've missed you too, old man." We patted each others backs and then stepped away from one another. Our faces grew a little more solemn when we realized where we had to go next. "Can you take me to my mother?"

"Of course. She's in her chamber. This way." He turned and lead me through my childhood house. I remember when me and Will would run through the hallways playing tag or sword fighting with sticks that we had dragged inside. Edgar had always yelled at us that we shouldn't play around like we did, but he never tried to stop us. I think he knew that we were kids and had to have our fun. We walked up the beautiful stone stairs to the second floor and I followed him to what me and Will had referred to as the adult wing, since it was where all the adults had their rooms and me and him had to sleep in the kid wing. We approached my mother's room and Edgar stopped outside the door and looked at me.

"Nick, your mother is very sick. It might be hard to see her this way." I nodded in understanding and he moved to open the door. As I saw my mother laying in bed I felt the sadness begin to overwhelm me again, but I kept it inside and proceeded into the room. Will was sitting on a chair next to the bed on the opposite side of the room from the door. He watched me as I walked over and stood over our mother. Her face was pale and cold that one could almost have thought she was a mannequin of some sort, except for the heaving of her chest as she breathed. Her eyes were closed, but she seemed to sense that I was there and opened them to look up at me, the loving shade of green that I remembered from my childhood seemed a bit dimmed now.

"My little Nicolai. It's good to see you. How long has it been?" I had to think about how long it truly had been since I had moved out, not counting Equestria's time.

"About two years." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply before looking back up to me again.

"You've changed a lot since then." She turned to face my brother. "Wilhelm, will you please leave me and Nicolai alone?" He hesitated, but stood and walked out the door, followed by Edgar. She turned to me again and smiled sadly. "You've done so much in your travels through the land of Equestria." I stood dumbstruck for a moment.

"How... How do you know about that?" Her smile brightened a bit. She opened the drawer next to her bed and I saw what looked like scrolls.

"Ever since you took down the corrupt princess the dragon has been sending me scrolls explaining your travels and accomplishments. I'm very proud of you, Nicky."

"The dragon?" I asked, not sure what to think.

"The dragon that you have become allied with. He was a friend of mine when I lived in Equestria over, what is it? One thousand years ago?" That's when I noticed it and I wondered why I had never truly noticed it before. She had a tattoo of a beautiful blue and yellow flower blossoming on her neck, but now I remembered that it was on either side of her neck.

"You're... You're a Pony?" I asked her. She simply nodded. "But... How?"

"I was born in Equestria a long long time ago, back when Celestia and Luna ruled side by side. Your father was brought to Equestria by some unknown means, much like yourself. He became a soldier, just like you as well, and began fighting for the sake of Equestria. When Luna had decided that she wanted to take over and create eternal night your father joined the ranks of Celestia's soldiers and fought against the night princess. Of course, when she was defeated the Ponies were afflicted with the bloodlust curse. Your father noticed this change and decided to do anything in his power to get me somewhere safe. I had been protected by the power of the dragon that I had known since I was a little filly, but it wasn't enough to truly stop the blood lust of the other Ponies and Celestia. The dragon and your father worked together to get me to Earth, which means that my oldest friend stayed back and fought to keep the princess away from the gate that took us to Earth, until he was captured and imprisoned like you had found him." I sat down in Will's chair and stared at the pattern in the blanket on the bed, thinking through the words that I was just told. It made a strange sense to me, but I didn't know how to believe it. "We came here and your father sold some gemstones that he had taken from Equestria to get a good amount of money to start us off and years later we had you and your brother." I let what she was telling me soak in for a moment until she spoke. "Nick, how long were you in Equestria?"

"About... about three years."  
>"How long ago did you leave in Earth time?" I looked at her, confused as to the pertinence of the question.<p>

"Three months?" She nodded, understanding something I didn't.

"It kept itself a bit more constant. A month here was a year there."

"What?"

"You know how I said I was born a thousand years ago in Equestria?" I nodded. "The time difference between Equestria and Earth is never constant. At one point a month can equal a year and at others a week can equal ten years. It's never constant, which is how I've lived her on Earth for over forty years, but over one thousand has passed in Equestria."

"That makes sense, I guess." I still couldn't wrap my head completely around everything that was going on. This was just adding to the pile of crap in my mind.

"Nicolai..." She was quieter now. "I'm sorry for not telling you all of this when you were younger." She sounded more helpless than she did a few moments ago. I took her hand and she continued. "Nick, you have done great things, no matter what bad aspects you think there are. You're making that world a better place than it has been in a long time, I'm sure of it. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll see the truth in time." I nodded and felt the tears welling in my eyes. Knowing someone, let alone my mom, was proud of me made me happier than I had been in a long time. The tears were also because of the fact that such a great woman was passing on and I knew I was going to miss her more than anything else. She sighed and closed her eyes and I knew she was asleep. I let go of her hand and walked out of the room. I found Edgar and Will sitting in my father's old study.

"Nick, what's going on?" Will asked, an edge to his voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked back.

"What did mom need to talk to you about?" Will wasn't happy right now and I could understand. It was a confusing time and at times like this no one wanted things hidden from them.

"Will, I'm going to tell you the complete truth here, alright? I need you to relax, okay?" He didn't say anything, but he looked at me in a way that let me know he'd listen. "Will... For the past little while, I've been... gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah. I haven't..." I couldn't think of the right words.

"Haven't been in this dimension?" Edgar said. I looked at him with confusion and awe, Will looked at him like he was mad.

"Yeah, that's about right." I said and Will turned to me and gave me the same look.

"What the hell are you two talking about?"

"Will, I've been in another world. The world our mother is from. She's from another dimension completely different from our own and I've been living there for a few months now." His look of confusion never changed as I explained everything to him, just like I had with Brian. I explained the world, the Ponies, what I'd done there, everything. He couldn't believe me when I finished telling the long and horrid story. He looked to Edgar.

"He's insane right?" He was a bit desperate for a yes, something to make everything normal again. Edgar had stayed silent through the entire conversation since he had spoken at the beginning, but now he looked at my little brother and shook his head.

"No. He's telling you the truth." Will's jaw dropped and he stared at the butler for a moment or two before Edgar spoke again. "I know because I'm also from that world." Alright, that was new to me as well. "I came here with your father and your mother as well." He pulled his collar down, showing us a cutie mark that was of a dust pan and a broom.

"Well, that's not something mom decided to tell me, but alright." I sat back in the chair. I was getting a bit more used to this, though it was still pretty strange. Will was even more confused at this point and looked between us hoping that we'd tell him it was some kind of fucked up joke, but that wasn't the plan.

"You two are serious?" He looked to Edgar. "You're from a world that is a little girl's cartoon here?" He looked to me. "And you're apparently a murderous guardian in said little girl's cartoon world?" I nodded as did Edgar. I think this was the point that it sunk in that we weren't messing with him and he began believing us. "I'll be back. I'm going for a walk." He left the room and I sat quietly, listening to my breath.

"Nick, there's something you need to know." I looked at Edgar, who was now more seriously holding himself. When he knew he had my full attention he spoke. "Nick, you and your brother will not inherit the money and the estate that will be left behind when your mother passes." I was a bit surprised.

"Who will then?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Wallace." I realized the horrible implications now, knowing that if he got the money and everything else, he'd kick Will out and force him to live on his own. I knew that was something that would mess with his life pretty badly since he's still in school and has no job at the moment and no way to support himself besides the money that our family had.

"But why?" I wasn't quite following.

"Because him and your mother aren't actually divorced, just separated. He still has legal claim on the money in the case of your mother's death, and he will take it."

"Gods dammit!" I yelled, slamming my fist on the arm of the chair. "Well, there's gotta be a way to get it back to us." I said, hoping Edgar would have an idea. He looked to me and, still serious, spoke.

"You could kill him." He didn't smile or laugh, letting me know this wasn't a joke.

"You're not seriously thinking I could just kill him and get away with it?" He shook his head.  
>"No, you wouldn't get away with it. You'd definitely be caught and put on death row."<p>

"Not reassuring."

"Unless you can get out of this world and into Equestria again before the cops can get you." I looked at him in surprise for a second.

"How do you propose I do that?"

"I can help." The voice was unfamiliar and I turned to see a man walk out from the shadows around the book case to my left. I recognized him after a moment as I saw the hourglass on his neck.

"Doctor Whooves?" I never had met him or stopped to try to, but I knew him from the show. He nodded to me and smiled brightly.

"Good to meet you finally, General." He smiled a bit more and walked towards me more, extending a hand. I took it and shook.

"You too. Now what do you mean you can help?" His smile grew even wider, which I didn't think was possible.  
>"Well, it's as simple as me being near you when you're done with my TARDIS and you get in before you get caught or die and we're off." Sounded simple enough, but that's not how these things worked out, ever.<p>

"Sounds simple enough, but I'm still not keen on the idea of doing this..."

"Think about it this way, Nick. Whether you get away or get caught, as long as you kill Wallace, you're brother can live a good life." Edgar made a good point. I sighed and hung my head for a moment.

"Fine. I'd be perfectly happy to kill Wallace, but you know he's got a large number of bodyguards and shit in that god forsaken house of his." Wallace was a pretty rich individual on his own, owning a large mansion of his own that he lived in with his bodyguards, most as strong and large as Taks.

"Yes, I'm very aware." Edgar walked to the large wardrobe in the corner of the room and opened it with a key. I had always wondered what was in there, but decided to just leave it alone. He took out a very large sword, about seven feet long from tip to tip. It had a silver hand guard, black tape wrapping around the handle and a green and red design before the black blade began. The sword was worn, but deadly and intriguingly sharp with what looked to be six diamond shaped imprints on both sides of the hand guard. "This was your father's back in Equestria. It was used to cut down hundreds of the Night Soldiers during the war with Nightmare Moon. I think this is good enough purpose for it to become yours, as your father would wish." He walked to me and handed me the blade. Being as big as it was, the sword wasn't nearly as heavy as I thought it would be. It could easily be used two-handed, but I felt that I could use it with a bit of effort with just one hand if I wanted to. He handed me the sheath, which was a specialized belt that clearly was imbued with magic to help hold and release the large, curved blade. I strapped it on my back, putting the sword in it.

"Thanks, Edgar." I smiled, feeling a joy that my father's legacy lived on in the sword and in me now.

"Don't thank me. Thank yourself and your family. Now, do me a favor and kill that sadistic, rich bastard." This was a side of Edgar I'd never seen as I saw the hatred boil in his eyes and I nodded. I gave him a hug and left quickly with the Doctor. "Alright, plan?"

"I'll plant the TARDIS outside of this Wallace's home and when you're done with him, you can come out, hop in and we'll be back off to home." I thought of something.

"Your cutie mark didn't fade when you came here?" He shook his head.

"I'm not from here, much like your mother or Edgar. I'm actually from Equestria and do, in fact, have a permanent cutie mark like all Ponies. I'm also a bit different from this world's show of Doctor Who. I was born a Pony and raised a Pony, but I developed the TARDIS myself as an invention. I'm just a normal Pony with no special talents besides being an extremely intelligent individual."

"Well, I guess that works." We stepped outside of the house and I now saw the blue police box situated on the grass. "Alright, I'll head over there and I'll wait til this thing is planted outside his place before I even think about going in. Alright?" He nodded his approval and climbed inside the machine.

"By the way, you get caught or die, I'm leaving without you." He smiled playfully to me and I was a bit more reassured by his happiness. "Good luck, Nick." He stepped completely inside, closed the door and it was gone.

"I have the weirdest friends." I ran my way down the streets out of Miami, knowing the way to Wallace' only just, but enough from my childhood to know where to go. He wasn't too far from our home, always keeping tabs on us and such. I had to avoid any police or bystanders, having a big ass sword strapped to my back. This was pretty tough since it was only just darkening. I found myself pressed up against the large barrier wall that surrounded Wallace' home and waited until I saw the TARDIS appear across the road. I walked over to the buzzer and pressed it, a gruff voice sounded from it, seemingly irritated.

"Who is it?"

"My name is Nicolai Imbartan. I want to talk with Wallace, now!"

"Get the hell out of here!"

"Fuck you, you fucking piece of shit!" I yelled at the microphone.

"What did you just say?" He was getting irritated. I had to draw him out.

"You're just some pussy who hides behind a microphone! You probably can't even fight, can you, you fucking bitch!" I heard him growl and stand on the other side. The buzzing started that initiated the gate's opening sequence. I stepped through when it was open enough and saw a large, bulky and strong looking man storming my way. I waited til he was close and drew the sword when I was no more than five feet away, cutting him from left shoulder to the midsection of his right ribs. He fell, dead before he hit the ground. I kept the sword at my side as I walked towards the house.

"Stop right there!" I heard from my left and looked around me to see about twenty guards on either side with guns aimed at me.

"Fuck, I forgot about guns..." They were ready to shoot, but I flipped the sword in my hand and javelin threw it into one of the guard's heads, causing him to fall and the rest to be stunned enough for me to run forward and grab the handle of the blade, spin and cut down about two or three more before they got themselves back on track again. I heard the bullets being fired and didn't know where to move. I dove out of the way, throwing myself behind another of the guards and heard him getting hit and he fell. I quickly grabbed his gun and opened fire back, taking down a few more of the bastards with relative ease. "Huh, video games must pay off." I laughed as I killed the last five or six of them with the gun before I was able to relax for a moment. I knelt down and picked up a few more of the weapons and looped their straps over my shoulders. I put the sword away, knowing I probably wouldn't use it much now that I was thinking in terms of Earth rather than Equestria.

I ran to the mansion and kicked in the door. "Kyeeeck!" I yelled, quoting the old meme of Captain Falcon. There wasn't anything in the foyer that I needed to worry about and I continued with caution. As I inched my way through the large house I noticed a very distinct lack of people. Maybe I had killed them all outside? I didn't know how many Wallace had under his pay, but I'd guess forty would be a good round number.

"Halt!" Nope. I turned to see many armed personnel filing out of the various rooms on both the second and first floors. I started firing without really thinking it through. These people began dropping like flies while trying to fire at me as well, but having trouble as their friends continued to die and fall in front of them. After a few moments I believed I was done as there were no more bullets coming at me and no more men pushing bodies over and stepping on them to get to me. I hadn't heard a retreat or anything, but I had wasted about four guns worth of ammunition and decided to pick up a few more. My life at this very point, felt much like a first person shooter as I replenished my ammo and picked up more guns to kill anything that decided to move.

"Whatever works, right?" I said to myself with a smile. I walked up the stairs, hoping to find Wallace there and that he wasn't already out or wasn't there in the first place. I busted down each door, hoping it was either empty or had the bastard in it. About halfway through the hallways I kicked in door number ten or so and heard the audible jolt as my stepfather yelped in fright.

"There you are, you jackass." He reached under his desk and pulled up a pistol and began aiming at me, but I took my sword up and cut his hand clean off, causing him to scream in agony. I grabbed him and dragged him over the desk and threw him on the ground. "Time to pay you back." Was all I said and his look let me know that he knew what I meant. All the torture he put me through all my life. Suddenly his eyes showed hope as he looked behind me. I turned to see Taks, who proceeded to punch me. I flew over the desk, colliding with the wall on the other side. I stood and saw Wallace trying to run out of the room and used one of the guns to take out his legs, causing him to fall face first onto the ground.

"Stay back!" He yelled as he flipped onto his back to look at me. Taks got in my way. I took up the large sword again and cut overhand, slashing him across his face from, my perspective, top right to the bottom left of his jaw. As he collapsed to the ground, the piece of his head that I had cut off landing next to him, I stepped over the body towards the crying Wallace. "Th-The police are here!" he shouted. I could see the blue and red of the lights on the walls and ceiling around use.

"Oh? Well that's not a problem to me." I stomped on his head, breaking his nose and causing blood to come out of it violently as he yelped in pain. I stomped again and felt his face start to give way as more blood came out. I stomped one more time and my foot burrowed itself in his head, squishing against his brain matter and crunching the bones. I took my boot back out of his head and turned to face the window out to the front of the house, where there were about ten police cars parked outside and about twenty or so cops with their guns ready. The police box was still across the street... blocked by every single last cop. "Fuck." I turned and walked a few feet away from the window before running at it and jumping through it. I fell quickly to the ground and landed both on glass and hard ass ground, feeling my right leg began hurting as I realized it was broken now. I charged forward without giving too much time for the cops to get their heads back in place. I jumped over the first two out of four rows of cars before they started opening fire. I jumped over the third row and felt the sharp pains as bullets connected with my flesh and tore through me. I pushed myself as best as I could until I jumped into the TARDIS. The door slammed behind me and I looked up to see the Doctor pressing some buttons and flipping some switches I didn't understand. Of course, much like the TARDIS from the TV show, this one was huge on the inside.  
>"Ready to go home?" I simply nodded, not really sure if I'd be able to do much more without passing out. Apparently we were moving through dimensions at this point and I sat next to the door, feeling the blood pooling around me from the various bullet wounds I'd taken. Many were in my torso, but about four or five were in my arms and legs and I now hurt a lot more than I ever had. I focused on my breathing to keep myself conscious. "Nick, I've got something to tell you. It's a bit of a present to you and your family." I looked up to see him standing a few feet away from me. "When you left Equestria, it froze in time, thanks to me of course. When you get back there it'll reset itself again, having only passed moments after you left, but from this point on it will flow in line with Earth. A month on Earth will equal a month in Equestria." Made sense, but I didn't know why this would matter to me. "Secondly, now that you're going back, a gate will be open. Your brother and Edgar will be able to come visit at a point in time without even having aid from me." I realized now what the present was and I smiled. I remembered something though and forced myself to speak up.<p>

"My... My mom?" I didn't want to leave on such terms, having only spoken with her the once since I had come home and knowing she was dying. The Doctor's face became solemn.

"She passed away soon after you left the house to get to Wallace'. I'm sorry." I didn't have anything else to say. She died a great woman and that made me proud. Wallace was dead and my brother would have the money now that I was missing. I sighed and laid my head against the metal wall, but remembered something else. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the Pinkie doll and smiled as it brought me happiness again. "I'm going to drop you back where you were when you left. Ms. Dash's house, right?" I nodded again. "Alright. Close your eyes and relax and I'll see you in the future." I closed my eyes, put the doll back into my pocket and waited. "One more thing, brace yourself."

The machine sounds drifted away and I felt myself sitting on something soft. I opened my eyes and looked around, seeing Rainbow Dash's home around me. Before I could do anything else I felt myself starting to slip through the clouds. The spell must have worn off while I was on Earth. I yelled as I fell from the cloud, the air beating against me like knives. I felt and heard the bones crack as I made contact with the earthen floor below, my scream gurgling out into blood. I didn't pass out from the initial collision, but I couldn't breath now. My lungs must have collapsed on impact.

"Oh dear!" A familiar, soft voice spoke up as I started to drift off into darkness. "You have to help him!"

"Stand back, darling." The voice was new and sounded interested in the situation. It spoke to me now. "If you can hear me, get ready. This'll hurt." I felt my body lift off the ground and the pain became much more intense. There were no hands holding me, leading me to believe it was Unicorn magic. A few seconds after I was lifted up everything went black and I passed out.


	4. The War

(Before you read this, look at Ask-Fiddle-Stitch's Tumblr page. You just have to give a glimpse to get where I'm coming from. Go. Go now.

Also: I really don't want to, but I recommend at least looking up a summary of Sweet Apple Massacre to understand a later part of the story... fuck that story)

I choked, finding it very hard to breath. As blood and saliva filled my throat, I gagged and coughed, trying to sit up and move. At this point I was sure that whoever brought me here had stabilized me, but hadn't done much past that. As I scanned over the room I noticed it looked like a scientist's laboratory. The table I had awoken on had straps that were clearly meant to hold down struggling... patients, seems like a viable word. I attempted to stand and felt the pain in my spine and ribs grow exponentially more grueling and fell to the ground. I attempted to raise myself off the floor, but found that I had no strength left in me. I heard footsteps approaching, accompanied by what sounded like metallic clicking. There was a sigh.

"Get him back up on the table and sedate him, please Moon." This was the voice that had spoken to me before I had passed out. I heard the clicking get closer, but couldn't see what it was that was making it. I was lifted by what felt like metal claws and placed back on the table. I tried to tear my eyes open, but whatever had picked me up had apparently sedated me while I was in its grasp, and I fell unconscious yet again.

I roused again, this time I noticed the bright lights that shined down on the table, much like a surgery table would have. I sat up slowly, this time there was no pain as I moved my back and neck a bit to test out the mobility.

"Fucking fantastic..." I mumbled to myself. I looked around the room again, seeing all that I had before. I stood and proceeded to test my coordination, hoping that I wasn't too out of whack. I found that my body moved just fine. I stretched, feeling rested. When I reopened my eyes there was a face in front of me. It was a blue-haired Pony, but half of her face was now made of metal and what looked like a camera lens for the eye. I jumped back, looking it over and my heart jumped into my throat. Her arms and legs had been replaced by abnormally long, inhuman, clawed mechanical limbs. The arms extended out maybe six or seven feet from her shoulder to the tip of her fingers and the legs, if she were standing upright instead of on all four, would have put her almost to twelve feet tall.

I stumbled back, never having even seen anything quite like this before. It stared at me quizzically as I knocked over items and clambered backwards away from it. It didn't move towards me, but instead continued to watch me. I stood and spoke.

"Who... what are you?" I half-shouted. It didn't answer. I stepped forward a few steps before shouting again. "What the fuck are you!" It tilted its head at me. It didn't seem to have a very high intelligence, or at least not one that was able to communicate with me. I was in a strange place, facing a strange creature with no idea what had happened. All these things added up to my next action. I ran forward and connected my fist across the flesh side of its face. One of its large metal claws reached out and grabbed me, clamping my arms against my sides to stop my resistance. It pulled me close to its face and I reared back and smashed my head against its. I felt a very strange lack of pain, but wasn't going to argue with it and assaulted the creature again. After the second hit it lifted its opposite arm, balled its fist and hit me hard across the head. I fell to the floor, bleeding, but conscious. I heard the metal on the floor as it moved towards me. I rolled onto my back and saw its claw raised high above me, ready for the kill.

"Moon! Stop it!" The voice from before rang out. The creature looked in the way of the voice and then moved back cautiously from me. Soon the creature was replaced with a new face. She stood over me, looking down at me with disappointment, but not anger. Her left eye was covered by a white eye patch. A scar went vertically above and below the patch. She had a line of stitches that went down from her forehead, right under an abnormally long horn, all the way down her neck to her chest. Her neck also had a horizontal line of stitches, just above her collar, seemingly around her entire neck. Her cutie mark consisted of a an X made with a line of stitches and a scalpel, which made me believe she was some kind of doctor, but with everything I knew about this world, she may just be a psychotic murderer. As I looked her over I took in the massive amount of scars that were visible around her clothes, but my eye was attracted to her her left arm. It was mechanical, but not nearly as monstrous as Moon's, being about the same length as a normal arm. The shoulder was built in a plate kind of deal and continued down to a narrower part that linked to an "elbow" and down to a round, barrel-shaped forearm, ending in claws. She seemed to notice that I was staring at it and moved it to show it off with a satisfied smile.

"You like it? Made it myself." I didn't speak, my gaze passing her to the Pony she had called Moon. She turned to face the creature and then back to me. "She was in a horrible accident and I had to replace most of her body to at least give her a life. Unfortunately most of her mind was injured and she lost a lot of her ability to speak and lowered her intelligence greatly, but she's a wonderful help around the clinic and seems to enjoy the work. I'd politely like to ask that you don't hit her again." I nodded and realized I was still on the floor and stood up, neither of the two moving to stop me. "How are you feeling?" She turned to start messing with what looked like equipment or something.

"I'm feeling better. Thank you, uh...?" I waited for her to answer.

"Fiddle Stitch is the name." She held out the metallic hand and instead of hesitating and being rude, like I think she was expecting I took it and shook.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Gener-"

"I know who you are General Imbartan." She interrupted me. "Having you in my clinic for the past couple days has risen a lot of concern from your friends, especially the purple-maned one and the dragon. Of course, I learned who you were from my good friend Fluttershy." Fluttershy knew this woman? "Actually, It was her and I who found you after you fell from that cloud. You should count your blessings that we were in the area."

"Well, thank you, again Doc." I don't know why, but I've always wanted to call someone that. She didn't seem to mind.

"You're welcome. Now the extent of your injuries was a large number of fractures in your spine, your skull and your ribs. I've taken the liberty of replacing all of the bones in your upper torso with tempered metal versions of them. That alright?" I thought about it and nodded.

"Fine by me. Is that why I didn't feel much when I headbutted... Moon, you said her name was?"

"Yes. And that's exactly why. Now do you-" I interrupted her, but not to talk to her.

"I'm sorry for how I acted Moon. I was just scared." I smiled to the half-machine Pony and she tilted her head and smiled, which I took as acceptance of my apology. The doctor was smiling as I faced her again. "Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt." She chuckled a bit before continuing.

"As I was saying, do you have any questions or concerns?" I thought for a moment.

"Just one." She turned to smile her sharpened-toothed smile at me.

"Sure." She was very friendly despite the very disturbing atmosphere she let off physically.

"What's with the stitches?" Her smile widened.

"What? These? Well sometimes I just get tired of my skin and decide to replace it with something new." She noticed my gaze following her mechanical arm as she moved it while she talked. "And this was because of a bit of a mishap during my last change and I lost my arm. Had to improvise, but I don't mind it at all." Her grin turned a bit more evil. "You want one?"  
>"Oh no! No! No! No! No!" I shook my head violently. "I think I'm good with my normal limbs, unless otherwise specified, thanks." She laughed heartily and I joined in. "Thanks again, Doc. So what do I owe you?" She put on a face of contemplation before speaking.<p>

"I've heard you have a knack for killing. How about this: Just don't kill me?" She smiled, but I could tell that there was something behind it.

"Such a simple request. Why?"

"I've had... troubles with authority figures before. They seem to think I'm insane or a monster, and most attempt to 'eradicate' me from this plane of existence. I've had to move around a lot and it's caused quite a few problems for me, so I'd like for you to NOT do that." I nodded and chuckled a bit.

"Makes sense. Deal then." I held out my hand and she took it. Another thought popped into my mind. "Where is my stuff?"

"You mean that humongous sword and other random knick knacks? Over here." She walked over to where I saw my father's sword propped up against a cabinet. I stepped over, put the harness over my shoulder, lifted the sword with one hand and put it on the magical sheath. I saw the doctor's jaw drop. "How are you able to lift that thing? It weighs almost three hundred pounds. I could barely lift it with my magic." I smiled as I picked up my wallet, which I pocketed, but knew I wouldn't need and my Pinkie Pie doll.  
>"The sword? I don't really know either. I had trouble believing I could pick up such a big hunk of metal too, but I don't seem to have any issue. Maybe, since it was my father's, it was magically attuned to my blood or something, I don't know." She seemed pleased with that answer, but had another question.<br>"What's with the doll? It looks like nothing I've ever seen before." I didn't know if animals existed in the same aspect here, having barely ever left Equestria and never seeing any animals like horses.

"It was a present from a friend I met on a trip back to my home."

"What is it?" I tried to think of a viable answer, but just thought I might as well tell the truth.

"It's a Pony. Back where I come from Ponies actually look like this." Her expression turned to confusion and awe at the same time.

"Where are you from?"

"I need you to promise that this'll never go past you and me. It's taken enough of an effort to keep this to myself for the past three years." She nodded agreement. "I'm from another dimension. In my dimension Ponies look like this and this world exists solely in a made up reality made for little kids. In my dimension Ponies like what Pinkie Pie was a few years ago don't exist outside of stories written by the fans of what is called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. In fact, this world is basically a mishmash of the worst and darkest of the My Little Pony fan stories. This making any sense?" She looked lost, but after a moment of thought, she seemed to understand.

"So, in your home dimension, this world doesn't really exist outside of a made up story and murderers don't exist unless they're written about by Pon... wait, you don't call yourself a Pony do you?" I shook my head.

"I'm a Human."

"So, unless Humans write about these murderers they don't exist?"

"Basically." She sat down on a chair and stared at the floor for a minute. "I'm sure, somewhere in my world you've been created in a story or maybe a drawing or something."

"So... If I hadn't been made by a Human, I wouldn't be alive?"

"My mother told me that the dimensions exist long before they are linked into other dimensions. She lived in my dimension, after leaving this one, for quite a while before My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was created. This dimension existed long before that, so I think that, even if you weren't made on Earth, you'd still exist just the same as you are." I realized that this was all too confusing to someone, even as intelligent as the doctor. "Look, Doc, you really shouldn't worry about it. It barely makes sense to me and I've lived it. I really shouldn't have said anything."

"No, no. It makes sense... in a way..." She shook her head. "I'll get it another time, not going to worry about it right now."

"Good choice, Doc." I laughed. "Thanks for letting me get that off my chest though." She nodded and I finished picking up my stuff. "Anyway, I should probably get back to Canterlot and check back in with the King and Queen. Thanks for everything, Doc."

"You're welcome. Hope you can come back on better terms next time."

"I'll try." I smiled and took my leave, nodding to Moon as I passed her, getting a small smile back.

I sat on the train back to Canterlot a few hours later, having stood in the crowded station for a while. Apparently there was some celebration going on in Canterlot that I had no idea about and everypony was invited to it. I found my own cab and closed the door, propping it closed with the sword to keep anypony out. I laid my head against the seat and began to relax, hearing the Ponies clambering onto the train and looking for seats. I heard them angrily scream at my door for me to let them in, which I replied with a swift birdy finger. Once the sounds quieted down, I heard a light tapping at the window and looked up to see a familiar face. I stood and moved the sword, letting her in before slamming it and blocking it again.

"Oh, thank you, Nick." She sat on the opposite seat as I put my feet up. "It's awfully crowded, isn't it?" Fluttershy was quiet as ever. I had gotten to know her a bit over the years, but me and her often differed, me being loud and quick to violence and her being quiet and peaceful.

"Quite. What the hell is going on in Canterlot? I've heard nothing about any party. "

"Oh? It's the celebration of peace for you stopping what was going on in Cloudsdale." Didn't seem like enough for a celebration, in my opinion, but whatever.

"Huh... wonder why I haven't heard anything. Oh well, heard of it now." She smiled shyly, as was normal, and didn't say a word, also normal. We sat in silence for a good ten minutes before I remembered something. "So, Flutters. How do you know the good doctor?" She looked at me in confusion for a second, then recognition dawned.

"You mean Fiddle? I met her a while ago when I went to see if she could help with some headaches and insomnia I had been having. She really works wonders." I caught the undertone in her voice and smiled a bit. Fluttershy had definitely made more than acquaintances with the doctor.

"Well, I can vouch for her medical skills. I didn't know it was plausible to replace necessary bones like spines and skulls with metal, but she's definitely good at what she does." Fluttershy nodded happily and we continued the rest of the train ride in silence. When we arrived in Canterlot, I decided to chill in my compartment until the train was almost vacated before I left, where Fluttershy rushed off quickly with a quiet goodbye.

Once the train was nearly empty I grabbed my sword, put it back on its holder and walked my way off. There was a huge crowd of Ponies that surrounded the train, meeting with their families or friends or what have you. I pushed through until I was out of the depot and into the wider streets. I shuffled my way to the castle, but remembered that there was a place on the way that I'd like to stop at first. I rapped on the door and waited for a moment until it cracked slightly, the chain keeping it more or less closed.

"Yes?" Rarity's voice spoke from behind the door.

"Rarity. It's General Nick. I've come to check on you. I haven't heard from you or seen you in a while. Everything alright?"

"Oh, yes, quite. I just had a bit of an issue with Opal and I'd rather not go out like this." That sounded suspiciously familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it, still.

"Well if there's anything I can do, you know where I am."

"I'll keep it in mind, thank you General." She closed the door and I turned to continue my journey to the castle when I was interrupted by a bright smiling face.

"Hi Nick! Have you heard about the party they're throwing us?" Pinkie's attitude had taken a bit to get back to her upbeat cheerfulness, but after King Discord pardoned her crimes and she promised to do her best to protect Equestria most Ponies accepted her back and she began to do her best to cheer them all up as she had before.  
>"Hey, Pinkie. No, I hadn't until Fluttershy told me about it. What's going on?"<p>

"Discord and Luna are holding a huge party in the castle, almost as big as the Grand Galloping Gala, just for us, to say thank you! Isn't that exciting?" Before I could answer she ran off to gods know where. The crowds grew smaller as I neared the castle, seemingly since the party wouldn't start for a while longer. I walked inside and found my way to the throne room, where both Discord and Luna sat on their thrones.

"My lieges," I said, bowing.

"Are you feeling better, Nick?" Discord asked.

"Quite, thanks to the efforts of Doctor Fiddle Stitch in Ponyville."

"Yes, we've heard. Well, either way, welcome back. Have you heard of the festivities?"

"Yeah, kinda hard not to with the thousands of Ponies here in Canterlot today. When does the party start?"

"Tomorrow evening. Will you be there?"

"I'll do my best. I don't want to pass up a party that's for me." I tried to sound snide and smiled pridefully.

"Good. I hope so." Discord had a small smile that let me know that he was a bit amused.

"Anyway, I'm going to go to my room and sleep. Been an interesting day." I walked out of the throne room without another word, not really too keen on authority being over me, so I acted better than both of them when I felt like I could. I found my way to my chamber and put the large black sword against the two Sun Blades that laid against the foot of my bed and put the Pinkie doll on my desk in the corner of the room along with my wallet. I sat on the bed and stared at the floor until the tears came into my eyes and I sobbed violently as I remembered my mother's passing and the terms I left on. I hoped Will was doing alright. I laid down and continued to cry, but didn't sleep. I got up and grabbed the scrolls out of the drawer of my desk and a quill and wrote the first journal of my arrival here in Equestria. It tired me out and I finally laid down and slept.

The decorations littered the hallways, courtyard, ballroom and even the outside of the castle, with even more being put up as I walked through the hallways. I continued out of the castle and through the crowded streets. It seemed like all the Ponies from the close by towns had traveled here for the party and it made the paths clogged and annoying to navigate. Once I was at the gate of the city it cleared up and I continued off down the path.

I chose the upward path when I came to the fork in the road, one down and the other up. I came to a picnic area and sat at one of the tables. I enjoyed the view down to the large capital city from here and I often came here to get away when I had the time. The streets looked like waves as the Ponies moved around and I sighed. I had never liked parties and had usually been antisocial on occasions where I had to go to them. I wasn't too keen on going to a party actually meant for me with this many Ponies attending and I felt my stomach turn and put my head on the cold wood of the table.

"You feeling alright?" Skyblade's voice came from behind me and I looked at him. He was leaning against the fence to my right.

"I'm fine, just..." I trailed off and looked back to the bustling city.

"Don't like parties?" I nodded. "I'm with you. Kinda been used to seclusion since Scoot's exile, training and all. I don't really know how to act around other Ponies anymore. You're probably the only one that I can still speak a straight sentence to." I looked at him again as he stared at the sky, sadness in his eyes. I stood and walked over to him.

"Star, no matter what, you know I'm here for you." I watched as the tears slowly filled his eyes and he hugged me. I hadn't expected it, especially from someone so hardened against emotions, but I knew his pain was horrible and he needed comfort and wrapped my arms around him as well. He sobbed a few times over my shoulder before pulling away. I knew he had been through a lot more than any normal thirteen year old Ponies should, but he held himself with such strength that it amazed me.

"Thank you, Nick." We sat in silence for a while before I stood.

"Well, we should get back to the castle. Even if there's not a threat, we're still on duty. Plus we have to get cleaned up for the party."

"Nick. Would you be willing to train with me once before the party begins?" He was hopeful that I would say yes. I didn't see why not and nodded.

"Meet me in the training area in about ten minutes." He smiled and flew off to the sky barracks over Canterlot. I walked my way back down to the gates and pushed my way through the crowds, back to the castle and went to my room. I picked up the black sword and thought that maybe I should add the two Sun Blades to the training weaponry, but changed my mind and left down to the training zone quickly. Skyblade sat against the wall, apparently having been there for a few minutes, though I wasn't late. He was the fastest flier in Equestria, save Luna, since Rainbow Dash's demise, which surely aided in him getting here so quickly. He held his Guard-issue sword and shield, the shield looped over his left arm. He had decided that he didn't want to wear armor, save the large metal circle, since after our domination of Cloudsdale, and now donned a cloth t-shirt and a pair of black wool pants. He saw me coming and pushed himself off the wall.

"Ready?" I asked and he held his sword and shield up. I smiled evilly, knowing he had never seen the seven foot black sword that I took off my back. His face turned sallow for a moment, before he regained composure.

"Ready." I stepped forward quickly and brought the sword down on his shield. It made a sizable dent in the metal, weighing over three hundred pounds to anyone but me. He leapt back and I could tell that he was surprised at the power behind it, seeing as I was using it one handed. He jumped forward, shield first, attempting to push towards me, but I spun on the ball of my left foot and kicked the side of the buckler and pushed it aside. As my foot was replanted I swung the sword down at his shoulder. His sword barely blocked it and he pushed my blade back before swinging horizontally at my legs. I jumped over the sword and kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards. I swung my sword down at him while he was prone, but he rolled out of the way and swept his leg at my ankles, tripping me. I fell to the ground and tumbled backwards, getting back to my feet. Before I could react I saw the sword heading for my head and knew that I wouldn't be able to block it or dodge it. I felt a massive amount of pain as it connected with my head, but stopped with a dull "thunk" as it made contact with the metal skull that now resided in my head.

"Shit! Nick!" Skyblade pulled his sword away and dropped it on the ground as I moved my hand up to check the wound. It had hit just above my left temple and had cut completely to the bone. I cringed at the pain as I touched the damaged muscles. "How are you still alive?" He said, still in shock.

"You heard about the doctor in Ponyville that was taking care of me for the past little while?" He nodded. "Well she replaced some of my bones with metal. Luckily one of them was my skull." He looked worried as hell, but I smiled at him. "It'll just need some stitches, it'll be fine. That'll teach me to disregard my training for too long." He looked surprised as I slung the sword over my shoulder again and turned. "I'm gonna go get fixed up and you should go get clean for the party. I'll see you there, alright?"  
>"Alright. You sure you're alright?"<p>

"I'm not dead, right?" He said nothing. "Then I'm fine." I turned and walked away and heard his wings unfold and flap a few times as he took off. I went to the castle infirmary and found Leafy, the castle's housed nurse. As I approached her she looked up from her book, having nothing better to do in the empty infirmary. She saw the gash in my head and stood quickly.

"Nick, are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a training mishap. Can you patch it up?" She nodded and found, threaded and sterilized a needle, clamped and sewed my skin together. When she finished up she took a bandage and taped it to the side of my head.

"There you go."

"Thanks, Leafy." I turned to leave, but stopped. "You coming to the party?" She shook her head.

"Nope. Gotta stay here in case someone gets hurt."

"You expect someone to get hurt?"

"It's a party... With Pinkie and booze... of course someone's going to get hurt." We laughed.

"That's true. Well, hopefully I don't end up in here. Anyway, I hope you can have a good night, nonetheless."

"I do too." She sat down and opened her book again as I made my way back to my room. I put the blade away and went into my personal washroom and cleaned up, dressed in some new clothes and looked out my window. The city was a bit less crowded now, but I saw that the Ponies were moving towards the castle, which I assumed meant that the party was beginning soon and I decided to head down. I walked out through the barracks and back to the main part of the castle, which I now found to be flooded with Ponies, all conversing and moving to the many party areas. As I went through the crowds I got pats on the back and the occasional "Thank you!" from the fancily dressed Ponies. I realized that I had dressed in my normal t-shirt, jeans and jacket and hadn't cared to change into formal attire, but brushed it off with a "I don't give a fuck."

"Nick." I heard the soft voice behind me and turned to see Fluttershy, dressed in her Grand Galloping Gala dress. She looked absolutely stunning and I had to clear my throat just to be able to talk.

"Hi, Fluttershy. You look divine." She blushed bright red and looked down to her feet, kicking softly at the floor in her normal shy way.

"Th-thanks." She smiled sweetly as she looked up at me and I felt something I had never felt before. There was a pressure in my chest and my throat as I looked at Fluttershy. It wasn't just because of how she looked. She was beautiful in all aspects. She was kind, sweet, loving... Why did I only start feeling this way. She frowned at me as she moved a bit closer. "Nick, there's something I need to tell y-"  
>"Fillies and Gentlecolts!" Discord's voice interrupted Fluttershy and I turned to look at the king up on the microphone podium. "Welcome to the celebration of peace! This is certainly a momentous occasion! These heroic Ponies have stopped a horrible evil that has been hiding under the noses of the Ponies for years! They have stopped the senseless slaughter of innocent Pegasi children in the Rainbow Factory of Cloudsdale and have ushered in a new era of spared lives and whole families, instead of those torn apart by 'exile!'" He looked behind him and saw the Apples standing to his right and Skyblade, Pinkie Pie and Silver to his left and a look of confusion and an unspoken question washed over his face. I looked back at Fluttershy, who had a sad expression, but smiled at me and nodded for me to go. I moved through the crowd until Discord saw me and smiled. "The leader and mastermind behind the raid!" He motioned towards me and the crowd cheered loudly as I moved up to the midsection of the stairs. He moved out of the way so I could speak from the podium.<p>

"My friends, this is truly an amazing out turn and I'm glad to have pleased so many Ponies. May I just say that it's been a long time coming since my first arrival here in Equestria. My encounter with Pinkie Pie..." I turned to give her a smile as she looked down at the floor in disgrace, but when she saw my smile she lightened up again. "... The execution of Princess Celestia, the truce missions all over the world with the other countries, and everything leading to this moment has been an eye opening experience. I have learned great things and made great friends..." I motioned to the group of comrades behind me as well as Discord and Luna. "... And I've also chosen to forever protect Equestria and its inhabitants until my passing comes." The crowd cheered and applauded raucously and I waited until they were done to take on a more solemn tone.

"But, my friends, there is one thing that I must address. We must never forget the fallen, comrade and enemy alike. Over the years I've killed many of those that stand tall in loyalty of Celestia and those that just want to kill, like the Butchers. I've also killed members of the Guard, such as when I attacked the castle to slay Celestia. I've lost comrades before in the line of battle and been forced to leave some behind to die. I feel regret for all the lives lost on both sides of the battle for Equestria's peace.

"One soul that I would like a memorial made for is Rainbow Dash..." I waited for the crowd to calm as they booed and screamed. "She had an honorable goal that she wanted to complete, but was forced to do horrible things with a promise of a better future. She didn't enjoy the deaths she caused and hated the pain she pushed on the families of the murdered Pegasi children. She truly wanted nothing to do with it, but she felt she had no other choice. I push for a memorial for her and I understand that many Ponies could hate her and everything she helped in, but I promise that she wasn't as bad as we've lead you to believe." I waited as the crowd spoke with each other before they roared in agreement with me. "Thank you. Thank you all." I sniffled a bit, feeling a bit more emotional than I had before the start of this speech. "Now, I didn't mean to ruin the spirit of the party. We still have saved hundreds of future lives and that's something to celebrate! Let's get this party started!" The crowd cheered and continued past us on their way to the ballroom, courtyard and gardens. I looked through the Ponies that walked around, looking for Fluttershy again, but I couldn't find her to save my life and shook my head and turned to my friends.

"That was a great speech," Apple Bloom said.

"Thanks. I'm surprised it came out that well. I've never been good at public speaking. Well should we all go have some fun?" They all nodded and I watched Pinkie run off way ahead of us, followed quickly by Silver. Those two were still the best of friends and now that Silver no longer had to hide behind stupidity she was way more fun loving. Applejack said that she was going to go find someone to dance with, which surprised me and Apple Bloom, knowing how serious Applejack had been for the past years. Big Mac didn't say anything as he wandered back into the castle. "Huh, wonder where he's going."

"Probably just to his room. He never was one for being around large groups of Ponies."

"I guess that makes sense." I looked to Skyblade and smiled a knowing smile. He smiled back.

"Seems we're not the only ones, huh?" I chuckled

"Seems that way. Oh well, he can go do what he wants, but you're a teenager, go find someone to dance with!" His smile dropped as I pushed him towards the dance floor in the ballroom.

"No! No! Nick!" Apple Bloom moved to steal him from me.

"I'll take him from here!" She said with a smile. I grinned. She had shown quite a bit of interest in Skyblade and after the raid they had grown closer and were around each other quite often.

"Have fun, you two. Treat him nice, Apple Bloom." I smiled and she stuck her tongue out at me. I turned and sat on a bench by the wall and watched the dancing Ponies move elegantly. After a moment I laid my head back on the wall and sighed. What was it that Fluttershy was going to tell me? I decided that a walk would be best and I started towards the barracks, where guests weren't allowed. As I passed some guards they nodded to me and I nodded back, handing each of them one of the treats that I had gotten off of the table on my way out. Some of the Guard had to stay at their posts during the party, so I thought they might as well have something good from it.

"Thank you, sir!" They said, taking bites from them and finding them very enjoyable.

"You're welcome." I continued to the gate of the Dragon. The six guards there heaved the large door open. I hadn't been here since I had come to plan the attack on Cloudsdale and let the Dragon know his part. As I walked inside I saw the large Dragon laying on the ground, apparently in pain.

"Nicolai, you're here." He turned his head to face me and I saw the agony in his eyes. "I haven't much time left. I was hoping you'd show up before I passed."

"You're dying?" I asked, feeling saddened that I hadn't come earlier.

"Yes. My life was bound to your mother's and in her passing has lead to me dying as well."

"Dragon... I wanted to say thank you for protecting my mother and my father during their escape of Equestria a thousand years ago."

"There is no need to thank me, young one. Your mother was family to me and your father had done great things to protect her. He gained my favor and I knew he would make her happy in that world. You came from their blood and truly are their son. You are kind, yet cruel and have what's best in heart. You are a great soldier, Nicolai and your mother was proud to call you her son. I'm proud to call you my friend." He closed his eyes, but his breathing continued for a few moments as I pulled a chair next to him and sat, putting my hand on his snout in silence. "Nicolai?"

"Yes, Dragon?"

"There is one more thing I must tell you before I leave..."

"What is it?" I turned to see his eye open one more time.

"Your comrade... Big Macintosh..." His breathing became more ragged as he snorted smoke and it became a window portal to the dungeon. "He is not as... friendly as you would assume..." I now saw a horrifying image of Mac standing over three tied up little girls and I stood sharply.

"No..." Not this one... Not Sweet Apple Massacre.

"You must stop him, Nicolai... before he hurts those poor little girls... go! Now!" His voice became booming as he yelled the last two words, shaking the room. I turned and ran from the room, heading to the opposite side of the castle. I ran through the barrack hallways and as one of the guard's turned to look at the clopping of my boots on the floor I ran into him. I didn't say sorry, but grabbed his sword and continued on my way. I rushed through what seemed like hundreds of Ponies, pushing them out of my way and even hitting a few to get them out of my way as they tried to talk to me. I passed by two more guards that were guarding the way to the dungeon with each giving me a surprised look. I stopped outside of the door that lead down to the cells and torture rooms below. I opened it and trying to sound calm, I yelled down:

"Yo, Big Mac! You down here!" There was a pause before I heard his voice.

"Eeyup! I'm down here! You need something?" I didn't answer as I began my descent down the cobblestone stairs. As I closed in on the bottom I heard a shuffle of footsteps from my left side and before I could block I took a bludgeon to the side of my head and stumbled sideways. I shook the blurriness out of my head and looked at Mac, who looked very angry. I readied the sword for the fight.

"What are you doing Mac!" I turned to see that one of the little girls was now dead and bloodied and grossly disfigured. "What the fuck is this?"

"Shut up!" He charged at me and swung the large metal mace at me. I blocked it and we both kicked at each other, but his reach was quite a bit longer than mine and caused more of an impact. I fell backwards, but got up quickly and swung at the brute before me. He dodged backwards and swung the mace horizontally at me, hitting across my jaw. I felt the pain, but it was dulled by the lack of breaking bones and I kept my footing. "Fucking die!" Our weapons connected again and my sword flew out of my hand as his superior strength was transferred through the thick weapon overpowered the sword and my grip. He brought the bludgeon overhead and brought it down on me. I blocked with my arms and the sound of bones breaking and the massive pain let me know that the doctor hadn't replaced my arm bones. Both my arms were now in extreme pain and limp at my sides as I was continually hit across the head until I finally fell unconscious.

I woke in extreme pain, finding my arms were tied above me against the wall. I looked forward to see Mac raping and stabbing the corpse of the third girl, the other two disfigured and expired. As he finished with the last one he turned to look at me, putting his clothing back on. He smiled evilly at me.

"You really shouldn't have come down here, Nick. I'm the strongest Colt in all of Equestria. You should have known you couldn't stand up to me." He held up the knife and licked some of the blood off of it as he walked towards me. "Now, I'm not going to rape you, but I'll enjoy torturing the ever living hell out of you." He was now standing not but a few inches away from me, knife in hand and ready to bury it into my stomach. I felt a strange sensation rising up in my chest and tasted the blood in my mouth and spat it in his face. He backed up a bit at the unexpected act of defiance. "You piece of sh...it..." He looked to my right and I turned to see a hooded figure standing there. Suddenly the sensation I had been feeling became unrecognizable pain and I felt my chest explode in a massive amount of blood and before I could see what had caused it or what became of Mac I passed out from the pain.

I coughed and pushed myself up off the floor, the pain in my chest was gone and not even a scratch existed on me. I looked to where Mac had been and saw a horribly mutilated corpse. It was Mac, as I could tell by his relatively intact face, twisted in fear and agony. I smiled at the corpse, but that went away soon as I looked up and saw the three fillies that had died long before their time. I turned towards the door and suddenly remembered the figure and the explosion of blood.

"What the fuck happened?" I asked myself, hoping that there would be an explanation. I had never seen the figure before and whatever had happened... whoever they were... they had helped me somehow. I looked down as I coughed again and saw a piece of paper on the floor. I knelt down and picked it up. "Thanks for remembering me." The note ended there, no name, no explanation, nothing. I folded it and put it in my jacket pocket, rushed up the stairs and yelled for a guard to come help.

Once we found the parents of the children and I had explained the situation to them, stating that they could see their children now or after our medical staff had cleaned up their bodies. Of course they had chosen to see them as soon as possible and I watched as they cried and hugged one other as the destroyed corpses were wheeled to the medical ward's morgue to be cleaned up. They thanked me for trying to save their daughters and the retribution they felt I had given by killing Big Macintosh. I chose to let them believe I had ended his life. It was easier to explain.

"Nick, what happened?" Discord asked. I explained everything as best I could, even the hooded figure and the explosion of blood. I showed him the note and he read it a few times before giving it back. "I have no idea what happened. Had Macintosh ever given a hint to doing things like this before?"

"No, nothing I had ever noticed." And I had been fucking looking. This world had never given me any reason to not think that something like this could happen. "If it weren't for the Dragon's last words I wouldn't have even known."

"Well, besides the parents, the medical team and us in the room, not one Pony knows about this situation, and for the night I'd like to keep it that way. Understand?" Me, Apple Bloom, Skyblade, Applejack, Pinkie and Silver all nodded. Pinkie and Silver left the room upon dismissal, but I turned to face the Apples and Skyblade, who was now holding Apple Bloom close as she sobbed into his shoulder. Applejack gave me a look of thanks and sadness and I tried to think of something to say.

"I'm so sorry..." Was all I could think of saying.

"Nick, there's nothing to be sorry for. You did your best to stop him and we're grateful. He was a monster and needed to be stopped." Applejack said.

"I-I agree..." Apple Bloom hiccuped.

"Nick, it's our job to stop Ponies like him from hurting others. You did nothing wrong. We all know that." Skyblade said, running his hand through Apple Bloom's hair, trying to calm her.

"Nick, this is what you said you would do. You'd fight til death to protect Equestria from those that would work against peace. That's what Macintosh was doing." Discord said. "He was killing innocents and would have killed you just the same. You and whatever stopped him did nothing wrong and have earned my gratitude."

"Mine as well," Luna said.

"Me too," Applejack spoke up.

"Ours too," Skyblade spoke for both Apple Bloom and himself and she nodded to let me know she agreed. I didn't know what to say.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up and get back to the party." Applejack took my arm. "The rest of you get back to the party before the guests get suspicious." They nodded as she lead me through the barracks to my chamber. We went inside and she allowed me to go into my washroom. I stripped and cleaned myself up and asked her to toss me in some clothes. She did and I got dressed quickly. As I stepped into my room again she looked at me with bloodshot eyes. I moved to sit next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. She hugged me and sobbed violently into my chest for a few minutes. I patted her back and did everything I could to console her. Once she let me go she walked to the window that looked over the city and out to the border outside the walls. I watched as her face turned sallow.

"What is it?" She didn't say anything, choking on her words as it seemed, but she pointed out the window. I moved over to look out and my heart sank as I saw the large mass of Ponies in white robes on the outskirts of the city. "Oh... fucking... cocks... Go! Go get everyone in the ballroom!" Applejack nodded and ran out of the room. I stared a bit longer at the Celestia Resurrection army. I never knew that they had this many soldiers and it scared me knowing how strong they often were.

I grabbed my sword and moved down the stairs quickly, coming to the gates in a few minutes. The Ponies had all been taken to the ballroom and no doubt Discord and Luna had been informed of the situation and had commanded the soldiers to get prepared as I saw many of them running to the barracks. I stood at the gate alone, scanning the large group that stood not but a mile away. My heart raced as I drew my sword and charged forward. I didn't know what I was doing, I was scared and fighting was the only thing I could think of.

I approached their ranks and saw that they had their weapons ready as well. I swung the large blade horizontally through the first six or seven Ponies and watched them collapse. The sword carried itself into the next group and continued to chop down the Ponies group by group, but I knew that I could never win against the hundreds of thousands of Ponies that stood strong against Canterlot. I was surrounded, having fought my way inside the army and saw as they began to close in on me.

"Stop!" I heard a familiar voice scream and all of the Celestia loyalists turned to allow their leader to walk through them. Unlike the rest of the CR who wore white, unadorned robes and rainbow half-masks that covered the left side of their faces, she wore a black robe with various colored beads around the collar and cuffs. Her mask was a full white mask that covered the entirety of her face. She continued forward and spoke in a loud, solid voice.

"Nicolai Imbartan! Surrender Canterlot now and no one has to be hurt." She stopped a few feet away from me and I could feel her eyes on me.

"Absolutely not! You'll have to kill us all before we'll surrender!" Her head shook and I heard her sigh.

"We don't want to kill unnecessarily. Don't make us!" Why did I know this voice so well?

"We will never stand down to you scum! If you don't want anyone to die, you're the ones that need to get the hell out of here!" I heard her growl and she leapt forward, connecting her fist to my head. I felt her gloved hand hit me and then a pulse of energy sent me shooting backwards across the dirt. I was dazed as I stood and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. "What the fuck was that?"

"That's the power of the energy pulse enchantment I have in my glove. If you continue to fight I promise you will die."

"Damn you!" I charged forward, swinging the sword at her. She held up her hand to block and my arms flew backwards, cracking and snapping again, being weakened by my fight with Big Mac earlier. I steadied myself and swung again. This time she used her other hand to block. I braced for the pulse, but it never came, instead she held my sword in her hand. She moved closer to me, exhibiting an immense amount of strength as I couldn't yank my sword away from her.

"I was trying to tell you, Nick..." Her voice was softer now and I finally realized why it was so familiar.

"Fluttershy...?"

"I tried to tell you that this attack would be happening. I didn't want you to get hurt. Please forgive me." She pulled my sword out of my hand and threw it back towards the gates. I gasped and choked as her hand wrapped around my throat and she put her right hand on my chest. My ribs absorbed the impact as I flew out of her grasp as she used the pulse. I slammed into the city wall, falling in a cloud of dust on the ground. I stood shakily and almost fell before a hand took my arm and helped me stand, another on my left arm.

"Skyblade... Applejack...Apple Bloom..." I said to my comrades. They gave me a reassuring look. I knelt down and picked up my sword. I shook off the daze and turned to face the Guard. "The Celestia Resurrection plan to take Canterlot. Their army is much bigger than ours and they are just as well trained, but if we fall here, there will be no hope for peace in Equestria! We have to fight and win here! This is the final fight against these freaks! So let's finish this tonight!" The soldiers cheered and readied their weaponry, fixed their armor straps and said their final whispered goodbyes to their families and friends. "CHARGE!" I screamed.

I let the army go forward, lead by Skyblade. They cut through hundreds of the CR fighters, but began falling quickly as the loyalists caught their second winds. Me, Applejack and Apple Bloom ran into the fray. I cut through what felt like hundreds of them as Applejack and Apple Bloom watched my back. Skyblade flew through the air with the Air Brigade, chopping down all Pegasus resistance. I continued the fight, not seeing any end to them until they stopped attacking and Fluttershy walked towards me again.

"Nick, I have no desire to kill you, but you're in my way. We have to resurrect the Sun Goddess or the fate of Equestria will be sealed. Move or say goodbye." This Fluttershy wasn't kidding. She was ready to tear me in half to get past me, but I was more determined to restore peace, not let the land fall back in the hands of Celestia.

"Fuck you! You're going to die here and now!"

"I'm sorry to hear that." She punched at me, but I blocked it by stabbing the sword into the ground in front of me. The force pushed me back about five feet and I tore the sword back out and swung it overhead at her. She held up the pulse hand and as I made contact it activated, throwing me back again. I used the momentum to windmill the sword around and aimed at her neck. She used her block hand to stop it dead. As I fought to get it back she tore it from me again, pointed it to the southwest and used the pulse to send it flying. She turned back to me and grabbed me once again. She choked me much harder this time, causing me to begin blacking out. She raised the pulse hand up to my chest and I felt the impact, but she didn't let me go. Another attack hit me and then another and another and I felt my skin being torn apart from the inside out. While I was barely conscious she dropped me to the ground and tore the mask off. Her eyes were full of tears and her face contorted in anger and sadness in once as she continued to use the pulse on me. As the skin and muscle on my head began to peel away I completely blacked out, feeling extremely cold knowing that there was no way I could survive this time.


	5. Stitches

(Go look at Lil' Miss Rarity's Tumblr. Just a look to figure out where I'm coming from. You should know the drill by now, so go.

Also, bit of a sexual scene in here. Finally got over myself and realized that writing a bit of clopfic wasn't a bad thing. It's not too descriptive or anything and ends quickly, but it's still there... so warning just the same. ^_^)

I was surrounded by complete darkness, no sound, no light, no imagery. Nothing. It was just silent pitch black. Was I dead? That was a question even I couldn't answer.I could think, but I couldn't focus. My mind would just go blank if I tried to focus on one thing for too long. What the hell was going on? Where the fuck was I? Who was I? I couldn't remember. That's when I heard it. The sound, the rhythmic machinery sounds. They were faint at first, almost inaudible, but they grew louder as I tried to listen for them. The sound was familiar, but something I hadn't heard in years. What was it? I felt something solid beneath me. Was I on a table? My mind jumped to a girl with pink, curly hair. Her smile calmed me, but soon it turned to a dark, sadistic smile and her hair lost all roundness, falling down her back. My heart leapt into my throat and suddenly I could breath. I gasped for air, until I could calmly take a breath. My heart slowed as the pink haired girl disappeared from my mind.

I focused on my breathing for a minute, noting that I could focus on actions now, just not thoughts. I breathed deeply, savoring the taste of the air. I realized I was still surrounded by blackness. My eyes were shut. I attempted to open them, but too much resistance held them in place. I took a break and focused on the sound of the machine again. It was somehow calming. I breathed and listened and breathed and listened. I soon found myself attempting to open my eyes again. This time, with a little forcing, they opened up, very slowly. The world was a blur. I couldn't see anything that was in front of me, just blobs of color. My mind tried to piece together the colors to shapes, but found nothing. I decided to close my eyes again.

Suddenly, my mind put itself back together completely. My name was Nick. Canterlot was under attack! My eyes shot open to the blurry world and I sat up quickly. I heard a voice yelling concerned words.

"No! No! No! Lay back down! You're opening your wounds!" I looked down to my abdomen, where a new amount of pain was shooting through me. There was a large amount of red coming out of the light colored blob that I could only imagine was my body. A hand was placed on my shoulder and I was laid back down. The pain forced me to close my eyes as the voice spoke again. "Now I'm going to have to put the stitches in again..." It was a voice I knew, but my mind was drifting back into unconsciousness before I could think of who it was.

My brain was awakened again by the sound of the rhythmic machine. Still couldn't figure out exactly what it was. I opened my eyes slowly and noticed that I could see a bit clearer than last time. I attempted to sit up slowly, waiting for the voice to tell me not to. All I heard was the ceasing of the machine's calming sound and the shuffling of feet on the floor. I looked around the room, noting that the lights were off. I squinted to try to clear my vision, but nothing worked.

"Dammit..." I attempted to say, but choked on the words. I was thirsty as hell. When had I drank anything last? I looked down at my body and could clearly see a few lines of black that stretched my torso. I lifted my arm, painfully, to run my fingers across them. As I felt them I felt the pain increase in my chest where I touched. I was sore and healing. Maybe I should lay back down? I didn't quite yet. I looked around the room one more time and found that my eyes settled on a humanoid figure with a large amount of pink on what I thought to be its head. I cleared my throat as best I could before speaking. "Pi... Pink...ie?" I choked out to this unknown figure, but they didn't move or respond and I thought maybe I was hoping too much. I laid back down on the bed, as I found it was. I drifted back off to sleep.

I dreamt this time. I stood in my room back in Canterlot Castle and stared out the window to the gardens below. I could hear the birds chirping and the wind was blowing calmly through the tree leaves, making them sway. I always loved the view and was glad that King Discord and Queen Luna had allowed me such accommodations. I heard a knock at my chamber door and turned to answer it. There was no one standing in the hallway. I peaked outside, up and down the hallway. There was no one there. I closed the door and turned back to my room. I expected someone to be there, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The dream was soothing.

I roused myself this time. There was no sound from the rhythmic machine or even a voice to guide my voyage, but I found myself laying on the same bed in the same room. This time I could see clearly however. I moved and found that my actions no longer hurt me. I looked at my arms, legs and chest and saw the lines of thread that covered me. They were lines that made up patches around my skin, like a doll. As I ran my hand over the threads I found that my skin wasn't skin at all, but, rather, it was fabric. What the hell was going on?

Once sated with looking over my scars and my new skin I looked up and around the room I was in. I recognized it now as Rarity's shop in Canterlot. Nothing really seemed out of place. There were piles of fabric, mannequins and everything that would be needed for a dress maker. I jumped slightly as my gaze found the figure standing across the room. She had her back turned to me, but I could tell who it was by her lovely purple mane.

"Ra..." Was all I got out through my dried throat. It was enough to get her to look at me. She didn't turn completely towards me, but I could see her warm smile.

"You're awake!" She turned back to whatever she was doing while she spoke. "Glad to see you're feeling better. There is a glass of water on the bedside stand if you want it." I turned and saw the glass cup full of clear liquid with a few ice cubes in it. I picked it up and sipped the first bit, allowing it to cool and wet my throat before I downed the rest, panting as painful relief shot through my body.

"Oh thank the gods!" I sighed and she laughed.

"Thirsty?" She asked, knowing the answer, but being playful.

"About to die from thirst, yeah." I chuckled, but my joyful spirit didn't last too long. "Rarity, what happened to me?" I said, looking down at my scars.

"Oh? You don't remember? Apparently Fluttershy used some magic item to tear you to pieces when she attacked Canterlot. Applejack brought what she could of you here and told me to fix you up as best I could."

"What? Why here? How am I alive?" I had a lot of questions, but she answered them calmly.

"You're alive because of my magic. I learned a spell to extend the life of the one it's cast on past the limits of a normal Pony. You were lucky that she got you here in time though. You were barely holding on. Most of your skin was missing. If it weren't for those metal bones, you would never have survived. When she brought you in, you were nothing but those bones, some organs and various unconnected pieces of flesh. Was definitely a hard puzzle to figure out what went where." I looked down at the scars, still holding the black thread that held me together. A more urgent thought hit me.

"What happened to Canterlot?" I asked, remembering the Celestia Resurrection's attack on the capital city.

"We're still here aren't we?" I realized she was right and sighed, relieved for now.

"The invasion was repelled?" I just saw her nod. "Where is everyone else?"

"You mean your friends? They're in the castle as far as I know. Pinkie..." she shifted her legs slightly at this point. I just thought her legs were tired, but I know better now. "...and Applejack often came to check up on you. They were definitely worried about you."

"'Were'?" I asked.

"They haven't came here in about a month or so. We all had it in our minds that you were going to die. You never really stabilized out, so I think they just couldn't stand to watch you slowly die." How could they just abandon me?

"Well, I'm just glad Canterlot is safe." I stood up after a moment of contemplation and took a step forward towards Rarity. "And I thank you as well for saving my life. I know it is not your job, but, for however long I was a burden on you, I ask forgiveness and give all my gratitude to you."

"Thank you. Of course you're forgiven. You weren't a burden at all." She turned to face me and my breath caught in my throat, causing me to cough and sputter a bit. Her voice became concerned again. "Are you alright?" She moved to me and put an arm around me, trying to make sure I was okay.

"I'm... I'm fine. I just..." I remembered this one. Just like I had remembered Cupcakes when I was tied to that god forsaken table all those years ago. All the words. All the pictures. All the thoughts I had when I first saw this back home... they all flooded back. Lil' Miss Rarity. I felt my stomach turn slightly at the memories. I tried to keep my composure, but my thoughts were rushing through all the pictures that I had seen. I remembered the harm she had caused on herself. The insanity that plagued her mind. I remembered it all and I couldn't get the images out of my head. I felt my breathing become more frantic and shallow.

"Nick!" She slapped me across the face and it brought me back to reality, showing me the truth in front of me. I saw the heart brand on her chest. I saw the claw marks on her face. I choked a couple more times as I stood and regained my breathing. I looked her up and down, taking into account all the minor and major wounds that showed themselves around the dress she wore. I looked away from her, scanning the room for that damned thing. I didn't see it.

"Where's the doll?" I asked, bluntly. I remembered that thing... its stitched smile. The memories of when it was "alive" plagued my thoughts and dragged that question from me.

"The what?" She sounded genuinely confused and a bit worried.

"Where's Opal?" I asked, a bit more forceful. I watched as her face turned into that of dismay and anger.

"Why do you want her!" She screamed. I realized I had no real reason to worry about such a thing. What was the doll gonna do? It was all in her insane imagination, right? I wavered for a minute, remembering that it had killed once, but shook the thought away.

"Never mind." I waved it off, but she wanted to know.

"Why did you want to see Opal? Tell me now!" I looked into her eyes. She was truly angry and I realized that, even though she hadn't hurt anyone on the Tumblr page, only herself, I didn't want to take the chance of her hurting me, not in this condition.

"I don't know... I really don't." I said, telling the truth. She looked at me, her breathing showing her anger towards me. Soon her look turned to understanding and she apologized for yelling. "It's alright. I'm sorry for barging into your affairs." She smiled at me. I suddenly became aware of the fact that I was naked. "Where are my clothes?"

"Oh! Sorry!" She ran over to a wardrobe and took some clothes out of it. "Applejack brought them for you." I took them and dressed quickly. I nodded my thanks.

"I should probably lea-" I turned and stopped mid sentence. I looked at the bed, which I had apparently overlooked. I kept my breathing in control as to not alert her of my disgust and fear as I saw that doll laying next to where I had been. She noticed what I was looking at and looked back at me, waiting for my response. I turned away from the bed and adjusted my jacket as I spoke.

"I should probably get going. I need to check in with the King and let him know I am doing alright." I told her. She looked at the doll again and back to me before smiling.

"Alright." She escorted me to the door and I thanked her once again and explained how grateful I was for her saving me and taking care of me. "It's absolutely not a problem. Anything for you... General." The pause made me uncomfortable, but I wasn't sure why. I turned and went my way through Canterlot. It was late afternoon and most Ponies were inside, but I did pass a few, who gave me concerned and disgusted looks as they saw the scars that spanned my face. I came to the castle gates, where two guards were stationed.

"Halt!" One said, both lowering their swords to bar my way in. "Who are you? What's your business?"

"I am General Imbartan you dumbasses! Let me in!" They didn't budge.

"General Imbartan? Never heard of you." The so far unspoken guard chimed in.

"You're fucking kidding me? I killed Princess Celestia alongside Luna and Discord! My group and I destroyed Cloudsdale! Let me the fuck in!"

"We cannot do that, no matter how many fabricated stories you tell." I was getting pissed off now.

"Let me in or I'm going to kill the both of you!" I growled. They looked me up and down and one snorted.

"Move along, civilian!"

"Alright, I've fucking had enough." I stepped forward and pushed the first guard's sword to the side as he readied it, following through with my fist to his jaw, knocking him out instantly. I grabbed his sword and, without missing a beat, spun around and cut off the other guard's arm. He screamed in pain until I jabbed the sword into his head, leaving it there. I took one of the swords and walked into the castle. Cliché maybe, but it was way too quiet. I followed the well known corridors to the throne room and entered, like usual, only to be greeted, not by my King, but by a large group of soldiers, all their swords ready to kill me.

"What in the fuck is going on?" I was getting exhausted with this shit. The center of the group moved and I watched as a tall, white-maned unicorn colt walked out from the back of the group. His left eye showed no signs of color in the iris. It didn't look like an injury as much as just something he was probably born with.His smile was wide and devilish as he approached me.

"And who might you be?" He said this in such a way that I could tell he knew exactly who I was. His voice was raspy and sounded pained, like his vocal cords had been damaged or something. He stopped a few feet from me and stared me up and down. "It couldn't be, could it? The great leader of the Guard Nick?" I felt my teeth bare themselves at him as he spoke in his condescending voice. He began to circle me. "What brings you back here? You failed Equestria. You've been out of action for nearly two months. You're no longer welcome here."

"And who the fuck are you to tell me I'm not allowed where I live?" I asked. He just laughed, making my anger grow stronger. I grabbed him by his armor's collar and screamed my question. "Who in the hell are you!" His smile never faded as he spoke.

"My name is General Stormbreak." I could see it now. Another character from the Lil' Miss Rarity page. "I'm your replacement. Have been for a while." He pushed my hands off of his collar and turned his back on me. "Drop your sword and leave quietly and I'll let you live." I looked down at the sword in my hand.

"And If I choose to fight?" I asked, tempting myself to do just that. This question was answered by laughter from him and some of the guards in the room.

"Well, I doubt you'd like your opponents." He snapped his finger and I watched in horror as Skyblade stepped out from behind the line of soldiers. He was followed by Applejack, Apple Bloom, Silver and Pinkie. They were all dressed in Guard armor and all kept themselves from making eye contact with me. I shook my head, dropping the sword to the ground.

"No... No... No..." My mind couldn't comprehend this anymore. I couldn't stand much longer if I stayed here, I knew. I turned and ran through the hallways. I could hear Stormbreak's laughter ringing after me as I ran, the tears welling in my eyes. I had been betrayed by my friends. My closest allies. The closest thing I had to a family here in this fucked up world. I ran, not knowing where to. I just ran. I needed to get away. When I stopped running I found myself standing alone on the Red Plains, the area that Cloudsdale once proudly hovered over. I felt the burning sensation as my eyes began to produce the tears that soon streamed down my cheeks, accompanied by sobs of despair. My body shook and I fell to my knees. The only thing I could bring myself to say was: "Why? Why? Why?"

I knelt on the ground there for hours, remembering everything that had happened. Everything that I had done. Everything I had proven. I only wanted this world to be peaceful of its own accord. I just wanted to make the world right. But now... I didn't know what to do. I punched at the ground over and over again as I let my mind wander and almost every scenario lead to me killing Stormbreak violently. Stabbing him over and over and over again. Dragging his screams of agony from him while he writhed on the ground. I usually would have tried to shrug off these thoughts, but I had no reason now.

I stood and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting and I knew the moon would rise soon. I wandered my way southwest until I came to Ponyville. I continued to the graveyard and found the grave I was looking for and smiled as I saw my old friend. I picked the hack saw up off Millicent's grave and gave it a test swing. I walked into the town and decided to visit Twilight at her tree house. I walked inside and her voice came from upstairs.

"Who's there?" She sounded scared and ready to fight.

"It's Nick." Suddenly there was the sound of running footsteps and she came down the stairs, tackled me, hugging me tightly. I felt a weakness in my legs as she did this, but brushed it away. She began to cry and I was unsure as to why. "Twilight... what's wrong?" She just held me tightly for a moment before speaking again.

"I thought you were dead! That's what... um..." She sounded like there was a name she was trying to say, but couldn't think of it off the top of her head.

"Don't tell me Stormbreak came here..." I started, but was interrupted.

"That's his name! He came here and told me that you were dead and he was taking control of the Royal Guard and that I had to listen to him from now on. I told him no and..." The way she ended the sentence made me think that she was keeping something from me. I didn't dare ask out of fear of what it might be, but she didn't want to hide it, and after a moment of silence, she sobbed harder and let it out. "He raped me... When I wouldn't accept that you were gone, he raped and beat me to 'put me in my place'." She pressed her head into my chest and I held her closer. I was just getting more and more reasons to want to kill this bastard. "N-Nick... He killed Spike..." My heart grew heavier and angrier.He killed a baby dragon? MY baby dragon? I took a step away from Twilight and punched one of the walls, causing it to splinter pretty bad and felt an immense amount of pain in my arm.

"Twilight... I've got to go back to Canterlot... I'm gonna finish this with this bastard. I've got a few other loose ends to tie up too. Stay here and stay safe. Alright?" I didn't turn to face her, I couldn't let her see the pouring tears that ran down my face.

"Yeah," She agreed. I walked towards the door and stepped outside into the crisp night air. I heard a crack and pain in my legs and fell to the ground. I tried to catch myself, but the same thing happened to my arms. What the fuck was happening?

"Need a hand?" I heard the Doc's voice above me, a bit of a smile in her voice.

"Gladly," I answered. She knelt down and picked me up, to my surprise. I had been expecting her to use her magic. She carried me to her clinic and down into her lab, where she laid me on the operating table. I looked around the room as best I could and noticed the broken and disheveled nature of the items. "Doc, what happened?"

"Stormbreak." That's all I really needed, but she continued. "He came to visit and decided to trash all of my equipment. He told me that I was an abomination to Ponykind and I didn't deserve to live. Luckily Moon distracted him and got him out of my hair long enough for me to secure most of my things."

"Damn him!" I growled. She stood over me and I noticed why she hadn't used her magic to lift me here. Her horn was broken. "Did he hurt you, Doc?" She shook her head.

"He didn't get me too badly. Nothing I can't handle, I promise. Now what the hell happened to you? Just because we're friends doesn't mean you have to go off and stitch yourself up like me." The joke was very welcome at the moment.

"Fluttershy used some kind of magic glove to tear me apart..." She looked down at me with uncertainty.

"Flutterbug did this?" I simply nodded and she sighed, a bit saddened. "What is going on, Nick? Has the world gone mad?"

"Personally, I don't think we started out too on the ball."

"Nick, I'm going to fix you up a bit more. That alright?" I nodded and she injected me with anesthetic and I fell unconscious.

"How do you feel?" Fiddle asked as I tested out my limbs.

"Much better. What the fuck was wrong with me?"

"Well, your arm and leg bones had been replaced with mannequin pieces. I took those out and replaced them with metal bones like your ribs and skull. Your skin has been permanently replaced with fabric pieces for the most part. I did you a favor though. I used the Full Body spell on you. It allows for anything connected to the body that is intended to be part of the body to completely replace the body part. The metal bones are now your bones, the fabric is now your actual skin." I ran my hand over my arm and realized I could feel it on both sides now. She didn't seem too concerned as to why my skin was fabric and I didn't try to bring it up.

"Thanks, Doc. I owe you way more than you can understand." She shook her head and smiled.

"You owe me nothing more than killing that insane bastard Stormbreak."

"I promise he'll die painfully." She smiled brightly at this, her sharpened teeth gleaming in the artificial light of the surgery table lamps.

I left about an hour later and began the walk back to Canterlot. As I walked I thought of everything and how it had gone wrong. About Stormbreak's trespasses. About how he hurt my friends. About how he killed Spike. I felt the anger building up inside me again and it started to boil over and tried to relax a bit. I focused on the hacksaw as I spun it on my finger. I climbed the trails up to Canterlot's gates. There were clear signs of the battle that had taken place here two months ago. There were dried blood pools and even the strewn aside and rusty sword or broken mask. I approached the gate and noticed that there weren't any guards posted there and figured that there was probably a very small amount of soldiers even left after the war.

I walked through the streets until I came to Rarity's shop. As I came to the door I heard sounds inside and looked in the window to find that the blinds had just enough of a gap in them that I could her bound to the wall with chains, a large smile and a blindfold on her face as she used her magic to torture herself. I moved away from the window and leaned against the wall and listened to her pleasured and pained moans and screams.

After about ten or so minutes the moaning stopped and I waited a moment longer before knocking on the door. I heard the shuffling inside as Rarity came to the door, wearing a robe to cover her body. She looked surprised, but happy too see me.

"Nick. Come on in." She moved out of the way to allow me inside. As I walked past her she closed the door and followed behind me. "What brings you here at such an ungodly hour?"

"Rarity... I just wanted to stop by here before I headed to the castle. I'm not even sure if I'll walk back out of there."

"Why are you going to the castle if you could die?"

"General Stormbreak," Was all I said and she looked up at me sadly. "You know him?" I knew the answer. I remembered what happened in the story on the Tumblr back home. Couldn't let her know that though.

"Yeah. He arrested me about two weeks before you woke up. He has some serious mother issues..." She said the last part as a joke. I remembered seeing Stormbreak's "death" in the story before I was brought into this world. I didn't know the entire story, but I had to ask.

"Did he let you go?" She looked at the floor and just shook her head. I decided not to push the issue. "I'm going in there to fulfill a promise to a friend of mine and to myself." She seemed to understand my motives.

I felt the pressure on my head as I thought about the attack on the castle. I remembered all the bloodshed, the betrayal of Fluttershy and the more recent disgust I felt towards my friends. It made me sick and my head began to throb. I rubbed the bridge of my nose and sat down on one of the chairs.

"You alright?" Rarity asked as she put her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm just... Everything is changing. I'm tired..." She ran her hand over my back. I looked up and smiled softly to her. I looked over to my right and spotted the chains on the wall. I looked back to Rarity, who had followed my gaze and now looked back to me. A smile grew on her face and I realized what she was thinking.

"Rarity. I've found a fondness for causing pain as you've found a fondness for receiving pain... Would you do me the honor of allowing me to pleasure the woman who saved my life?" I thought that if I was going to die I might as well have some fun before I went. She laughed and moved to the chains that were hanging from the wall and coming out of the floor. She dropped her robe, revealing her very attractive, scar covered body. I walked over and hooked her into the chains. I turned to the table behind me and took up the gag and blindfold that lay there. As I gagged her and began blindfolding her I decided to ask her a question.

"Have you ever found anything that you found to be too painful or that you didn't enjoy?" She shook her head and once I had finished blindfolding her I smiled sadistically. "Alright, so I don't have anything to worry about." I picked up a knife and moved back to her. I put it against her cheek and cut a line down across it, causing a flow of blood to go down to her chin and drip onto the floor. She moaned as I did so and I found myself enjoying this. I had never tortured anyone before and it made me happy to know that I didn't have to hold back here.

I ran the knife over her arm, cutting a thin, long line along it. Her blood dripped onto the floor and began to pool slowly. I put the knife down and looked around the room. There was a riding crop on the table and I picked it up. Without warning I slapped it across her breasts, causing a groan to escaped around the gag. I continued to strike her body, across her stomach, on her sides and even over her newly formed cuts from her play before I got here. She was enjoying this and I was too.

I had never felt anything like this since I had come to this world. I had never felt sexual attraction until this moment. I took the gag out of her mouth and kissed her lips, which she responded with by pushing back to mine. I ran my hand down her stomach and over her groin until I found what I wanted. Her moans became louder as I rolled my fingers over her folds and I let my mind enjoy the fun that it was having now. Her body shook in pleasure as I simultaneously entered two fingers into her body while whacking her breasts with the crop. After a moment I pulled away from the kiss and smiled, listening to her breathing as I moved my hand. I took my fingers back and stepped away and I felt a twinge in my head and shrugged it off.

"Nick..." She breathed my name. She sounded very pleased and full of desire. I felt the heat rising in my stomach as I looked around the room for a few other things to use on the girl I owed my life to. I found a bag which held a number of clothes pins. I turned back to Rarity, gagged her again and kissed her cheek softly before I took one out and placed it on her nipple. She gave an excited moan and I continued to put another on the alternate nipple. I placed a clothes pin everywhere on her body that I could find to have enough skin to allow it. She was dripping from her loins when I had cleaned out the bag. I stepped back and enjoyed my handiwork when my foot was caught on something. I looked down to see a long, black leather whip and picked it up with a wicked grin.

"Let's get those off of you, eh?" I said as I wound my arm back and whipped across her torso, taking two of the clothes pins out of the twenty or so that covered her body. She cried out in pain at the surprising new tool being used on her, but she seemed to enjoy the flogging. I continued to aim for the clothespins, taking them off as I both cut and bruised her skin. Her moans and groans grew as did the flow of fluid between her legs as I finished my target practice. I dropped the whip. I stepped close to Rarity, her body even more bloody and beaten than I think she had been in a long time. I could see the scars from her imprisonment with Stormbreak though. As I remembered his name my brain changed gears completely and I found myself with an unaccountable amount of anger. I reached up and tore the gag out of Rarity's mouth and broke the chains with a couple punches, my metal bones giving me the strength to shatter them. She took off the blindfold and stared at me. My face was full of anger and I moved away from her. I didn't want to hurt her.

"Nick..." Without letting her get in another word I ran out the door. I paused and ran through all the thoughts of everything that's been going on once again. The twinge of anger and pain surged through me again. As I came to the castle itself the two guards from earlier still laid on the ground. I reached down and took the sword from the dead one's head and held it alongside my saw. I ran through the corridors until I came to the throne room. I kicked in the door and smiled. I was ready to have some psychotic fun.

"Why do you all always gather here?" I asked, jokingly. What I believed to be the rest of the Guard resided in the room.

"Nick!" Discord yelled from the throne. "Stormbreak! Kill him!"

"Yes, sir. Soldiers!" They didn't need any orders after that as they ran towards me. I blocked the first blow swung at me and slit his throat with the saw. I dodged around the next few sword swings that came at me. I punched one of the fighters, grabbed him and threw him into a few of the others, easing up how many I had to fight at once. I swung the sword at the front row, killing two of them and kicking one of them back into the ones behind him. I realized I had to keep the numbers around me down or I'd be fucked. As I brought the blade down on a soldier to my right it got caught in his armor and shoulder and I couldn't get it back. I let it go and dove out of the way of the stabs and slashes all around me. As I jumped my way out of the large group of soldiers I turned and blocked one of the blades with my left forearm. The pain was still extraordinary, but I knew I wouldn't get hurt too badly and I smiled through the pain, bringing my fist into the dumbfounded Pony's face. He flew back and I imagined bowling sounds as he knocked down plenty of the Ponies. They began composing themselves, but the saw whizzing past a few of them and embedding itself in one of their comrade's foreheads threw them for a bit of a loop and gave me and extra second to charge.

"Dragon Dropkick!" I yelled, quoting True Crime: Streets of LA as my boots buried themselves in the poor soldier's face. I landed on my back, spun onto my stomach and quickly jumped back up, punching the two men to my right and left, knocking them out. I grabbed the closest to me and grabbed him by his arm, spinning around with him outward from me, completely off the ground. As he hit those around us I felt it start to give way and spun faster until his arm dislocated from his shoulder. I let him go and he flew over the group. I smiled evilly as the remaining ten or so looked at me with fear. "Boo!" I shouted and they actually dropped their swords and ran out of the throne room. "Smart." I knelt down and grabbed my saw from the corpse's head and turned back to Stormbreak and Discord. Discord looked flustered and Stormbreak looked pissed beyond belief.

"How dare you do this! You think you're worthy to lead the Royal Guard when you'd just as quickly slaughter them?" Stormbreak yelled as best he could through the fucked up voice box of his.

"They were soldiers. They knew that they were putting their lives on the line for the security and safety of Equestria. I won't let you run the Guard in the way you are. There is absolutely no excuse for pointless murder or for rape! You aren't a soldier of peace! You're power hungry scum and nothing more!" My playful nature had gone when he had spoken up. He growled viciously at me before drawing his sword.

"You think it was pointless for me to kill the dragon, huh? He stood up to me and attacked me without provocation, so I was forced to kill him. That bitch, Twilight Sparkle didn't listen to the orders her superior was giving her and needed to be taught a lesson! You're just like the Celestia loyalist garbage! You just slaughter with no actual goal in mind and think it's right! I try to keep the world from falling into ruin and all of the Ponies stand against me! You know your little friends ran away after they found out you were alive and well? Pieces of shit is all they are! Why would anyone be loyal to trash like you?" He was done talking now and stepped down off the throne platform

"Know what? I'm done listening to your condescending bullshit! I'm gonna shove my fist down your throat and rip out your spine!" I blocked his overhead slash with my saw, spun on my left heel and brought my right foot into his side. He staggered to the side a bit, but regained himself and took another swing at me. I jumped out of the way and grabbed a sword off of the ground and held it loosely in my hand. I ran forward, dragging it along the ground. "Pandora's Blade!" I screamed as I brought the sword up, bringing sparks with it. I let it go as it began spinning wildly towards Stormbreak. I had made this attack when I fought against Wilhelm when we were younger. It was an attack that changed every time I used it. The way I threw it caused it to fly through the air in an unpredictable manner that was harder than hell to block. He attempted just that, but his sword caught it by the hand guard and caused the blade to spin around his sword and catch him across his right eye.

"Fucking piece of shit-sucking trash!" he screamed, moving backwards. He looked up, but he clearly couldn't see me. I realized now that his left eye, the blank one, couldn't see and now his good eye was fucked up as well. He was completely blind at the moment. I stepped towards him and he took slashed at me. "Stay away from me!" He screamed. I grabbed another sword off the ground and aimed it, casting it into his right shoulder. He dropped his weapon and fell to his knees screaming.

"Stormbreak, answer me this: Do you really think this world needs Ponies like you? So hungry for power that they can't understand that they can be beaten? I admire you're will to fight til you die, but you really felt like you couldn't lose, huh?" He didn't answer. I grabbed his throat and lifted him off the ground. "You hurt my friends and I don't appreciate that. Say goodbye to this world and I'll see you in Hell." I broke both of his knees and dropped him to the ground as he yelled in agony. I grasped his mane and held his head at waist level before I connected a solid punch into his neck, crushing his trachea. I opened his mouth, holding his top jaw and punched down onto his teeth, breaking his lower jaw clean off and listened as he died around the blood in his throat. While he was still conscious I brought my hand up in an uppercut and broke through the roof of his mouth, dragged him into the air on the hand that was inside of his skull and slammed him into the ground, causing his head to explode into a spray of blood and gore. As I stood I saw Discord begin standing out of the corner of my eye and proceeded to punt Stormbreak's headless corpse into his chest, knocking him back onto the throne.

"Sit the fuck down!" I took large steps as I angrily approached the soon to be former king. I grabbed a tuft of fur from under his chin and held him eye to eye."Now, before I cave in your head as well, what the fuck are you doing trying to kill me!"

"Ni-Nick! It's not that black and white! You were basically dead and I had to get ready for..." He trailed off and his gaze drifted behind me. I turned to look as the walls began to take on a bloody, rust-colored texture.

"The... fuck?" I turned back to Discord. "What the fuck is going on!"

"There's a powerful creature that's been on his way here from Tartarus since the Celestia loyalists attacked Canterlot! He's way stronger than I thought we was! No one can stop him!" He reached his lion claw up, drew his claws and slit his own throat. I let him go at this point as he fell limp and turned to face the creeping gloomy atmosphere. The air became heavy as the building was completely overtaken by the blood rust and I realized it had taken on almost a Silent Hill look. The door into the throne room burst open and a man stood looking over the room with a satisfied grin.

"So, it looks like you've already cleaned house for me. How about you move out of the way, kiddo, that throne is mine now." He snapped his fingers and Discord's corpse burst into flame, as did the rest of the bodies in the room, living or not. The blood that they had spilled remained, but the bodies themselves were completely gone. He walked confidently to the platform and I stepped out of his way as he did so. He sat and sighed contently. "You know how good it feels to be able to relax after being tortured for nearly ten millenia? It feels fantastic to be out of Tartarus." He stretched and sat more comfortably before looking at me. "So, who are you?" He wasn't unpleasant or anything, which scared me.

"My name is Nicolai Imbartan, I'm the General of the Royal Guard of Equestria." I felt it was fair enough that I took my title back.

"Nicolai Imbartan? That's not a name from this world. You're one of the universe hoppers then?" I didn't know how to answer that. "Well, I'd leave this world as quickly as possible if I was you. I'm not going to be nice with this one. I may have died once, but nothing is going to get in my way of making my kingdom again. So, if you like living, you are free to find your gate home and never come back."

"What are you going to do to this world?" I asked.

"Well, I'm going to kill all the creatures that inhabit it, raise their corpses and create my own little paradise where I'll live out the rest of eternity with no worries." He yawned at this point. "I've already started. My minions are spreading through this country as we speak." I bared my teeth at him and he noticed. "What's your problem?"

"I promised to protect this world no matter what! You just made the worst enemy of your life!" I held the saw, ready to fight. He laughed heartily.

"I like you. You've got heart. Why don't you join me? I won't kill you or wipe your mind. Hell, I'll even fix you up and make you immortal and you can live in paradise with me." He was very serious and it pissed me off even more.

"Absolutely not! These Ponies, no, all of the creatures of this world do not deserve to be your mindless slaves! I will not sit by and watch as you destroy this world!" I ran forward and attempted to cut him down, but the saw went through his body and I was pushed away effortlessly. I rolled to a stop across the room.

"You think you can hurt me? Seriously? I'm a demon, child! You seriously cannot hope to stand up to me!" He snapped his fingers and I expected to die, but after a moment of silence I opened my eyes to see that I was in the dungeon. "But I like you enough to give you some time to think about my proposal. I'd like the company. Sleep." I felt my head become heavy and soon everything started going black.

"Fucking... Piece of shit..." I drowsily said as my head hit the cold cobblestone of the dungeon floor.


	6. The Remnants

I sat alone in that dungeon for about two or three days before I finally heard the demon's voice again. He spoke to me as if we were friends and there wasn't any animosity between us.

"Nick. You're awake?" He asked.

"Yeah." I half-growled back.

"Good. I didn't want to disturb you. I wanted to see if you were doing alright. How are you feeling?" I chose not to answer. "So have you thought about my offer?" Again I didn't speak. "Yes or no?"

"Yes." I answered honestly. I had thought quite a lot about joining him just to get this over with.  
>"And...?"<p>

"Fuck you." I had decided never to join someone like him if it meant the death of an entire world.

"That's just what I expected from someone like you." He didn't sound angry or even annoyed, but more playful. "So, would you like to play a bit of a game?"

"Not really."

"Too bad. Get ready for the gladiatorial fight."

"What?" I didn't know what he meant. He didn't answer me back. I sat alone in that dungeon again for about twenty minutes before I heard a noise. It was a loud, high-pitched screech and slammed my eyes closed. When it stopped I opened my eyes again and found myself sitting on the dirt of what looked to have been the city, but now all the buildings were gone. But there was a new structure that took their place. The buildings had been torn down and built into a coliseum.

"Welcome!" I turned to the voice, now not in my head like before. I turned to see him sitting on the throne in what I took to be the Emperor's seat area. There was no one in the coliseum except me and him, so he was clearly talking to me. "You're the first contestant here in the my arena! Many more will follow however, knowing that there is some strength in this world. So... Are you ready to play?"

"Fuck you!" I screamed back and he smiled.

"Ah, ah, ah! A subject should never speak ill of his king. Begin round one!" I heard a shuffling sound from behind me and spun around to see a gate rising on the opposite side of the battle ground. Soon there were ten or so Ponies, All dressed in rusted armor and holding swords, surrounding me. There skin was flayed and peeling and their eyes were dull and lifeless. They growled and groaned and I realized that they had been turned into zombies.

"Fucking great..."

"Fight!" The zombies approached me and as soon as one was in range I spun around on my left foot and hit him across the head with my right foot. His helmet caved in and caused him to stagger a bit before he regained himself. I saw the one to my right out of the corner of my eye and blocked his sword swing with my forearm before punching him with the opposite arm. I hit him square in the face, which should have killed any normal Pony, but he just stepped back and lifted his sword back up.

"What the..." I ducked a sword slash at my throat, jumped over another slash at my legs and dove out of the way as three more hit directly where I had been. I grabbed one of the zombie's arms and attempted to break his wrist, but found it impossible. He punched me across the cheek and I flew back five or so feet before I slid to a stop. I jumped back up and watched the monsters stagger towards me again. They were invincible... But they had to break at some point.

I charged at them again and grabbed one of the swords as it came down on me, but didn't stop running as I tugged it from the zombie's grasp. I flipped it around and cut at the closest of the enemies. She blocked it and swung at my midsection. I jumped back and brought the sword down on her head. It cleaved into her skull and caused her to fall.

"Fuck yes!" I continued attacking, slashing at the closest around me and more or less praying that I would hit them. They were a lot stronger than I would have given them credit for from their appearance. After about twenty minutes of fighting the nine or so zombies left, they all fell. I felt exhausted. They weren't like anything I'd ever dealt with before.

"Good job, General. You're a fantastic fighter. Not many can even hurt my creatures. Too bad they can't be killed."

"What?" I heard the bodies begin to rustle and turned to see them putting themselves back together. Their wounds mended and shifted to become flawless and perfect.

"My soldier's never age. They never die. They can't be harmed and all attempts are futile. Round two." The gate opened again and twenty more of these Gods forsakened monstrosities filed into the room. "Fight!"

The fight raged on as my muscles grew weaker. It was almost two hours before They finally stopped standing yet again. I fell to my knees and coughed up blood. They had done the impossible during this fight and broken my ribs. My left arm was broken as well, but still movable and still usable if I could cringe through the pain.

"You're amazing! Never have I seen such strength!" As he praised me the bodies around me became whole yet again. "Are you sure you won't join me? We could take over all the realms that the universe allows to exist!"

"Fuck you!" I coughed out alongside blood.

"Pity. I was hoping you'd say yes." He sounded sadistic, but still kind. "Round three." over fifty more of them came into the ring. "Fight!"

I fought as hard as I could, pushing back against the gladiators that never stopped coming. I punched and kicked and slashed and bit. They went down one by one, but much too slowly. It was near on four hours and I had only "killed" twenty of them. I was becoming much weaker and I knew I couldn't go on. Suddenly the ground quaked and I saw hands, or paws, reach up and grab the zombies and pull them halfway into the ground before leaving them there. I didn't know what was going on and I couldn't move to try to escape.

"What the hell is going on?" The demon was angry for once. He yelled in complete agonizing rage as his soldiers were incapacitated. I looked down to see the paws reaching up to grab me as well and smiled up at him.

"I'll be back for your head." I was pulled underground. I fell into a tunnel and was quickly surrounded by creatures I hadn't seen before, at least not with human-like sentience. Dogs. I knew these ones however. Diamond Dogs. Much like the non-hooved sentient creatures in this world, they looked like they had in the show, just like the Griffons.

"Are you alright?" One of them asked in his rough voice.

"Yeah. Nothing I can't get through. Thank you for saving me."

"No need to thank us. Follow us." They lead me through the cave system and I did well not to lose sight of them as they wound through their familiar territory. Finally we came out in the middle of a forest. The Everfree Forest. They lead me through the trees, still watching to make sure that I wasn't getting lost.

"Just a bit farther." The one closest to me let me know. I smelled the campfire before I saw it. We walked into a camp in the dead center of the Everfree. I watched as a number of Ponies ran around the camp, doing various tasks. "We'll take you to the leader."

"The leader?" I asked.

"Yes. Fluttershy."

I stopped dead and growled. "I will NOT talk to her!"

"Please! You need to talk to her! She's the one who sent us for you!"

"I don't give a flying fuck if she sent an entire Buffalo tribe to come get me! She fucking tried to kill me!"

"She's terribly sorry, you know." I heard a familiar voice from behind me and turned to see Twilight.

"Twi... You're alive?" I was overwhelmed with joy at the sight of her.

"Of course I am. I'm not dying anytime soon." She smiled brightly at me as she said this. I moved and hugged her. She held me back for a few moments before we parted. "Nick. You really should talk to Fluttershy. She has a lot to tell you."

"Why should I even think about it? Look at me! If it weren't for Rarity and Fiddle I'd be a batch of gore on the dirt!"

"We all know what she did. We've all forgiven her. She had a good reason."

"And what reason is that?"

"Let her tell you."

I thought for a second before I spoke again. "Fine. Where is she?"

"This way." Twilight lead me through the camp, leaving the Dogs to their business. As we came to a bit larger of a tent she ushered me inside. I saw three Ponies standing inside talking. Fluttershy was the first one I noticed, then there was Skyblade and Fiddle Stitch. They both smiled as they saw me and Fluttershy turned her head away a bit. I didn't pay attention to my two friend and walked past them as they came to greet me.

"You wanted to talk to me, oh great leader?" I said, slamming my hands down on the table that was between me and her.

"Nick, I..."

"Why the fuck did you attack Canterlot? Why did you kill me?" I wasn't holding myself together very well anymore. Just the sight of her pissed me off.

"We... I..." She was quiet, as usual, but this time it wasn't because she was shy. No this time it was because she was scared and nervous.

"Spit it out!" I broke the table with a punch.

"I thought that if we could seize control of Canterlot we could stop shit like this from happening!" She yelled, her voice piercing.

"Bullshit! This isn't something you were trying to prevent! I doubt you even knew something like this was possible! You were trying to take over Canterlot way before this even began!"

"Because YOU were putting the worst of the world in charge and hoping for the best! You made all of the Ponies feel uncomfortable with how you acted and influenced the government! They all thought you were a monster that was going to destroy the world! If someone like me could take the reigns then they wouldn't worry nearly as bad..." She quieted down at the end there. I could understand where she was coming from, but I could sense the thought of selfishness she now realized she held.

"You think that's how that would work. Just because the civilians would believe in you more than me and the villains of the world, doesn't mean you'd be a better leader."

"I know..." She hung her head down. "Nick?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for killing you... I... I hope it didn't hurt."

"Hurt like fucking hell." She frowned at this. "I was conscious until the very end. My skin peeling off and my bones disintegrating. Yeah, that hurt." She hung her head again.

"I'm so sorry... I... I just knew you could stop us... If I left you alive..."

"They stopped you anyway and now I'm back and stronger." I looked at Fiddle, who smiled sadly at me. Sky nodded at me as well.

"Nick..."

"Flutters. I've gotten that out of my system. I forgive you for killing me. I can forget all of the evils you have committed." I walked over the broken table and put my hand on her shoulder. "I can look past it all if you'll fight alongside me to stop the demon and get Equestria back."

She smiled at me and nodded, hugging me with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"So what's the plan on stopping the bastard and his unbeatable zombie army of doom?" I asked as I, Fluttershy, Twilight, Fiddle, Skyblade, Applejack and Pinkie Pie gathered around a new table.

"Well, with how much our soldiers have had trouble keeping those forsaken things away from the camp, I don't even know if we can beat them," Applejack put on the table. "They just keep getting up and coming back for more."

"I couldn't kill even one of them when I was stuck fighting them," I said. "Like I said, they seem unbeatable because they are to whatever power we may hold."

"Maybe we can use some kind of magic to stop them?" Twilight said.

"Maybe. I don't know what kind of magic he holds himself, but if he's able to reanimate thousands of dead bodies, then it's gotta be fucking powerful. I doubt even you have any magic to stand up to him."

"What about Luna? She's gotta have enough magic to stand up to him," Skyblade inquired.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. I would have thought that Discord and her, since i'm sure they both knew about the demon's arrival, would have worked together to figure something out to stop him. Plus, I believe that Luna is dead. If she wasn't dead before that freak got here, she's definitely dead now."

"Well, what are you thinking that you're so quick to say they won't work?"

I shrugged. "I'm just stating my mind on these. I have no idea how to beat this motherfucker."

Pinkie jumped up and down as she got an idea. "ooh! Ooh! Ooh! What about the Elements of Harmony?" We all looked at her in amazement.

"That could actually work..." Twilight said.

"It's better than nothing," Applejack agreed.

"One problem." They fall faced me, ready for more negative thoughts from me. "You need all six of the Elements, right?" Twilight nodded. "Well, you got Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie... but Dash's dead." They all realized the problem. "So unless you have someone else who can stand in for her, then we're still fucked." I watched as they thought for a moment before they turned to me.

"You're loyal to your friends and your country. You think you could stand in for her?" Fluttershy asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know, but I guess it's worth a try. Where are the Elements?"

Twilight sighed, sounding defeated. "They _were_ in Canterlot Tower."

"And in that lies our problem. I know we can't get in there to get them." The group sighed collectively. "So anyone else got any ideas, because I've got fucking nothing?" We sat in silence for the next ten minutes before Fiddle shouted:

"Dammit all to Tartarus! We're getting nowhere." She stood and began towards the tent door.

"Hang on!" They all looked at me. "Tartarus... There's an actual gate to Tartarus right?"

"Yeah. It shifts position in the world randomly, though. Why?" Twilight answered.

"Well, it's full of evil creatures, right? The most evil the world has ever seen?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"The demon is from Tartarus, or at least was imprisoned there and escaped. That means Tartarus is actually Hell, which means that the evil creatures inside are actually the Ponies that sinned and were sent to Tartarus to be tortured for all eternity. And if I'm correct on my sins, killing, even vicariously, is a sin. That means that Celestia's spirit is somewhere in Tartarus. She's much stronger than Luna and, since she was killed, she's probably free from her curse."

"Are you serious?" Fluttershy said excitedly. She had stayed loyal to the princess for three years since her death and this made her happy to know that I was willing to do what I could to bring her back.

"Yeah. It's our only real chance. Where's the gate to Tartarus right now?" I turned to Twilight when I asked. Her horn started to glow and a small window opened up showing a large metal door situated in a mountainside. It zoomed out until the entire mountain was visible and I frowned as I saw the creatures that flew around the mountaintop city. "Fuck. Changelings." I said.

"Looks like it's right by their capital city in the Barrens." The Barrens were a place that no Pony was meant to go to, even before they had found out that that's where the Changelings were roosted. "I don't think they'll let us anywhere near that gate if it means going near their home."

"I agree, but really, I'd rather fight the Changelings than zombies."

I was given a tent to sleep in and rest up for the next couple days. Even if it was just a futon, the bed felt so much more comfortable than the prison cot that I had slept in for the past half a week. It felt like I was in heaven when I slept. It was the second day I was in the camp that I started wandering around and seeing who all resided here now. Mostly they were random civilians that had gotten away just quick enough and about twenty or so of the Celestia Resurrection that had gotten away from the war alongside Fluttershy. Of course there were Ponies I knew as well: Fiddle Stitch, Pinkie, Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, Skyblade, Apple Bloom, Zecora and even Shining Armor and Cadence made it out alive.

"Nick, come here please." I was pulled aside by Fiddle.

"Hey, Doc. What's up?"

"How is your body holding up?"

"Been holding up alright. My ribs have been broken and my arm is pretty fucked up, but they don't hurt nearly as bad now."

"How did they get broken?"

"Those damn zombies are fucking strong."

"Want me to fix them?"

"Nah. They're actually a part of my body, right? Like they'll heal and everything?" She nodded. "Then I'll let them work themselves out. Thanks though. I don't want you to be my repair shop every time I get a little scratch on my paint job."

She smiled widely, showing her sharp teeth. "Well, never hesitate to come to me if you need help, alright?" I nodded.

"Thanks Doc." I thought of something. "Hey Doc?"

"What?"

"What happened to Moon? You said she helped distract Stormbreak's guards, but I didn't see her when you fixed me up."

She looked saddened now. "She... She died... They killed her when she saved me."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. She's doing better now, I'm sure." She smiled at me then a thought seemed to cross her. "By the way, be warned, there's a cat guarding the camp. Be wary of her." Fiddle walked away and I was left perplexed as to what she meant, but shrugged it off and continued walking around town. I continued into the woods a bit, just to get away for a bit. It was about ten minutes into the woods that I heard rustling ahead of me. As I peaked over the bushes I saw Zecora pulling herbs from the ground.

"Hey, Zecora. Long time no see."

She turned and smiled at me. "Ah, Nick, it has been some time. You are usually busy during my visits I find."

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to ignore you or anything.

"Think nothing of it, Nicolai. You'll always be a friend to someone like I." She looked me up and down. "Fiddle and Rarity did a good job. They fixed what an herbal remedy cannot."

"Yeah. Lucky for me they were so quick to save me. I owe them a lot for that. Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Nick."

"What do you know about Tartarus?"She knew of the plan, just like the rest of The Remnants, as they called themselves.

"Come, quick." She lead me through the forest a bit until we came to her hut. As we stepped inside she moved over to a shelf and picked up a book and handed it to me. "Here you go, read this. It'll answer your questions, I promise."

I looked at the book. It had no name on the cover, spine or even the first few pages and wasn't very big. I continued to read through the book. I found out that Tartarus, like I had thought, was the Hell of every world. When a sinful soul died it was sent to Tartarus to be punished for all eternity. There was an opposite of course, known only as Paradise, where kind and pure souls would go to revel in sunlight for eternity. There wasn't much else on Tartarus, but it did explain that there was a leader of the Tartarus, much like a protector. Hades. Satan. Lucifer. Anubis. There were hundreds of names, but these were the few I could decipher. He was said to take on the shape of whatever you imagined him to be. He was also meant to keep the souls of Tartarus inside and safe from wreaking havoc on the worlds. I put it down and sat back in my chair.

"Sounds like all kinds of delicious happy fun party time."

"You still plan to go, no doubt?"

"What other option do we have?"

"You could always hide and chicken out."

"No. I'm going to go in there and find Celestia, drag her back out and save this world if it's the last thing I do."

"You truly are a brave soul. Here take this before you go." She opened a box and handed me a small necklace. It was a locket, but was completely empty inside, save for a small diamond shaped hole.

"What's this?"

"It is a show of good faith, hoping you will return on a future date." She smiled kindly to me.

"Thanks, Zecora." I gave her a hug and took my leave. It was a few more hours before we were going to head out to the Barrens and I was still trying to relax. As I watched my feet, making sure not to step in any Poison Joke, I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me. I turned to face them, but nothing came from them, save for another few movements. I walked slowly towards it and began peaking into the bush when a flash of pink flew up at me, knocking me back. It landed on me and hissed. I wound up and punched blindly at it, knocking it off of me. I rolled and stood back up, and saw what had attacked me. The Pinkie doll... or rather, Opalescence. She was on all fours, her back up like cats do, but when she saw me she calmed down and stood up. I didn't know what to do or how to react.

"Sorry, you startled me," She said in a voice like someone was drowning in blood.

"I... I... I'm sorry." I stuttered.

"Don't be. It was my fault." Her stitched smile somehow became wider. Her mouth wasn't moving as she spoke, which unnerved me. What the fuck was this monster? "So, are you feeling better now that Big Macintosh is dead?" She sounded proud of that fact and I realized something now.

"You... You killed him?" She nodded. "That was you and Rarity down there, wasn't it?" Again she nodded. "Why'd you save me?"

"You remembered Mommy. She felt all but forgotten, but you remembered. So we saved you."

"Thank you."

"Thank her." The doll turned and ran into the bushes, disappearing from sight.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I'm fucking going nuts." I continued on my way back to the camp. I saw Rarity standing outside arguing with one of the Diamond Dogs and as he left I approached.

"Rarity!"

"Ah! Nick! How are you?"

"Better. Glad to be out of that dungeon... again."

She smiled. "I'm glad you are too."

"Speaking of the dungeon I wanted to say thank you and Opal for saving me from Mac." She went wide eyed for a moment.

"You know it was me?"

"Opal told me. I ran into her in the woods."

She looked even more surprised. "You _talked_ to Opalescence?"

I raised and eyebrow at this. "That's odd?"

"Yes. She never talks to anyone but me... Usually she just... well... kills anyone who sees her."

"Huh. I don't know. I'm glad she doesn't kill me though. It's a nice change in pace." I chuckled. We sat around and talked about nothing in particular for the next half hour before I took my leave. I walked back to my tent and decided I might as well sleep until they came and got me. As I laid in my tent, staring at the cloth that surrounded me I found I couldn't sleep. I didn't know what to expect from this point on. I'd never had to face off against something as powerful as this demon and definitely never had to think about going into Hell itself. I was fucking scared.

I clambered out of the tent and tried to think of anything I could go and do to occupy my time for a few more hours. I saw Princess Cadance and Shining Armor cuddled up on the edge of the camp facing the trees and decided to leave them. As I continued through the camp I saw Apple Bloom and Skyblade sitting together as well. It looked like everyone was getting ready for the end and just wanted to be with the one they loved. I felt something akin to loneliness rise up in my heart and I turned and walked back out of the camp about thirty or forty yards before I started wailing on a tree, breaking its trunk and splintering the wood. My shouts and the impacts on the wood were the only sound I heard before I collapsed on my knees. I watched the blood run down my now shredded hands. I don't know why it was spurned now to feel so damn lonely, but I felt it and I hated every bit of it. I sat against the tree and did my best not to cry. I had solved the mystery... I was still human and like all humans I wanted companionship.

I had the Doc bind my hands and I called the group together again. As we stood in Fluttershy's tent I began explaining what I had realized.

"There's absolutely no reason we should all go into this fight. Let me go in alone..."

"Absolutely fucking not!" Applejack interrupted. "I won't let you tr..."

"Stop! Listen! These Changelings can become anything they fucking desire. Think about it. What if they turn into allies and you don't know who to kill and you end up killing our own troops in an effort to stop them. No. If I go alone, everyone is an enemy and easily stamped out." They all through about it for a moment before agreeing that this was a sound plan.

"Alright, you'll go alone. We'll have a sky chariot waiting to take you to the Barrens whenever you're ready." The group dispersed, but Fluttershy stopped me. "Nick. Why do you really want to go alone?"

I looked around the room for anyone to hear me. "Because... I saw all these Ponies who have those they'd rather not lose. Those they love. I understand how they feel. They can stay here and be safe. I don't want to cause anyone to feel the pain of losing someone they hold in higher regards than even themselves. No one should ever feel that." I held back the tears as best I could, but I saw those same tears streaming down Fluttershy's face. She understood. She had someone like that.

"Nick... I..." She paused, moved towards me and kissed me. I pressed the kiss back. My soul felt wonderful as I fully realized my feelings for this shy Pegasus. As our lips separated she pressed her head on my chest. "I don't want you to die... Not again!" She still felt regret. I realized now that she always would and that hurt me.

I stroked her hair and whispered. "Shh, shh, shh! I'm not going to die. Not anytime soon. I promise you, Flutters."

She didn't say another word, just sobbed into my chest as I stroked her hair for the next twenty minutes before I left the tent, got on the chariot and was pulled away from the one I now knew that I loved and would always love and fight for.

The Barrens. They're exactly as their name states: barren. It was a long expanse of dark gray dirt and dead plants for hundreds of miles. There was only one structure that stood out. That was the home of the Changelings and where the gate into Tartarus rested right now. I had a hell of a trek ahead of me. I had been given some food and water as well as a sword and some bandages. Luckily enough the Barrens were nearly devoid of life, save for a snake or lizard here and there, so it was easy to traverse to within a few miles of the Changeling's mountain.

I rested and ate, checked my blade for any impurities I'd have to watch out for, finding nothing, and changed out my bandages with fresh ones. As I was winding the bandages around my hands I heard the flaps of the Changeling's wings as they approached. About twenty or so landed around me and I stood.

"You come to kill me or capture me?" I said, grabbing my sword.

"Surrender now and we will not hurt you."

I chuckled. "You won't hurt me?" I drew the blade and cut his throat, kicking his dying self backwards. "You should be the ones who surrender." The rest got into fighting stance, three taking off and the rest standing their ground. The Changelings were a lot stronger physically than most Ponies and didn't have the necessary resources to make weaponry, so they chose to stand their ground in hand to hand combat. Made my job easier. I grabbed the closest one to me around the neck, wound up and punched its horn in a hook, breaking off the black mass. Its green blood spurted from the wound and it tried to shout, but I cut it off with a tighten of my grip. I broke his neck and dropped him, my smile growing wider. I chopped down four of the ground soldiers with one stroke, another three with the next and then threw the sword into the air, catching the one I had aimed at off guard, the sword pierced through his chest and killed him instantly. I blocked a punch and broke the Changeling's arm, ripped it off and smashed his skull with it. I walked calmly to my sword as the last half of the creatures stared at me and the massacre I had caused in moments. They looked at one another as I took my blade from the body and they ran. "Good little freaks."

I had finished with everything I had brought with me and decided to just leave it all behind. I approached the mountain, watching the Changelings flying around the top and watching down from the ledge as I nonchalantly walked towards their capital. There wasn't a way up there unless you had wings, which, of course, I don't, so I just decided to go around and kill whatever was stupid enough to come down. I had a goal in mind and that was all I had to keep at. Sadly the mountain was very large and it would take me hours to walk around to the other side of the thing, but only once or twice did anything decide to stand in my way. It was when I saw the edge of the gate that I was given a true enemy. Chrysalis.

"What are you doing around our home, Pony?" She said as she landed in front of me.

"I'm going to that gate. I've got business behind it."

She laughed. "Do you know what's behind that door? It's Tartarus fool! If you step foot in there you'll be killed in an instant and you'll free all manner of beasts into Equestria to kill and rampage! Do you still desire to pass me?"

"Yeah. You're gonna move or I'm gonna move you." I pointed my blade at her.

"Then I'll kill you here and now!" She leapt into the air and began flying around. She gained speed until I could barely see her then slammed into me. I flew for about half a mile before I hit the ground. I rolled and slide and bounced for another mile at least before settling to a stop. I stood and spit the blood out of my mouth. I ran back to where she stood. She began to speak, but I don't think she expected me to keep coming and attack as I punched her forty feet into the rock wall. I slammed my shoulder into her chest and began punching wildly at her. After a moment she used her magic to lift me into the air and slam me down hard onto the compact dirt. I felt my bones bend as I hit the ground, but she wasn't done with me. She hurled me into the wall, burying me into the mountainside, ripped me back out and did it again. Once she took me out again I felt myself being launched high into the air. Once I hit the arc and could open my eyes again I looked down. I couldn't be less than ten miles off the ground. Suddenly she flew past me, flipping me so my back faced the ground. Her smile was genuinely evil. The Queen's punches sped my decent nicely, while causing additional pain and damage. After a moment she stopped attacking and I braced for what I knew was coming. I hit the ground and caused a crater to appear around me. I began to black out and knew that I was going to die. I heard Chrysalis' laughter and I was about to give in and embrace death when Fluttershy's image and my promise to her ran through my brain. I opened my eyes to the blurry world and stood slowly. Once I stood I saw her turning to see me, a look of anger and horror washed over her.

"You..." coughed up more blood. "Think I'm going to stay down that easily? No. You're going to fucking die! I'm going to rip your horn off and shove it up your ass!" I ran at her, tackling her down. I began hitting her over and over again when I felt the magic begin to lift me off the ground. "Nope!" I wound back and hit her horn, not doing anything to it, but I continued to hit it as many times as I could in the next three seconds before it finally broke off. Her magic stopped pulling on me and I picked it up. She was screaming bloody murder and began flailing at me. I stabbed the horn into her left shoulder, stopping the limb below from working. I repeated the step for the other shoulder as well. I put the bottom part of the horn into the dirt, pushing it down so it was steady. I picked up her body and heaved it over my shoulder. I carried her towards the horn that laid in the dirt and was ready to throw her onto it when a feeling of guilt and sadness washed over me. I didn't want to be a monster who just murdered for fun. That's not who I was or wanted to ever become. I lowered her back down to the ground, pulled the horn back out of the earth and laid it on her stomach. I looked at the Changelings that surrounded us. "Help her." I plead. It took a moment, but they soon surrounded their queen and carried her to the city in the mountain above us. One stopped and moved close to me, taking my form and speaking in my voice.

"Why did you not kill our queen?" It asked.

"Because. I'm not like the demon that will soon plague this land. I'm not going to commit mindless murder just because I can. I'm sorry for those of you who were lost. Please, forgive me."

It looked saddened and looked at the dirt, turned and quickly flew away, turning back to its normal shape. I turned away and picked up my sword, continuing to the gate. It was large, metal and unadorned. It didn't have handles or even a wide enough gap for me to reach in and try to pull it apart. I moved towards it and ran my hand across the cold steel. A frighteningly loud voice rang in my head.

"Do you wish to open the Gates of Hell, mortal?"

"Yes," I answered, not faltering in my answer.

"You wish to enter the realm of eternal punishment before your time?"

"Yes."

"You wish to see the horrors that befall all sinful after their deaths?"

"Yes."

"Then you may enter." The door began to creak open when I heard a low growl emanate from the other side of the door and I was faced with Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld. It lunged at me, but I was a bit quicker and jumped back out of its reach. It never let up, however, chomping at me with all three of its heads and swiping at me with its claws. I barely dodged most of its attacks, but once I found an opening I jumped at it, stabbing the sword between the middle head's eyes. The entire body staggered for a minute before it regained balance. It clawed at me again, seemingly off balance however. I struck the left head, cutting deeply into its face before its paw hit me. I spun in the air, hitting hard on the ground. It jumped at me, easily a kill strike. I thought of something and placed the sword facing where one of its heads would be in a moment. I guessed right and the blade sunk into the right head, causing it to die. The body took a bit longer to come under the control of the final head and when it did it was sluggish and weary. I ran forward and stabbed at it, but it caught the blade with its teeth and broke it in half, smacked me back again and charged me. I got up quickly and watched its movements, waiting for the right moment. As it got within biting distance from me I jumped onto its head. I punched into the last head's eye and ripped out the round object. I threw it aside as the animal bucked and shook in an attempt to get me off of it. I took the broken sword piece and jabbed it into the empty socket, pushing deep into the head. I cut at all the tissue I could and soon the dog died, the body fell lifeless and I stood over the monster.

"I'm sorry." I patted the large dead dog's left head and made my way to the gate, stepping inside and jumping as the heavy doors slammed shut quickly behind me. It was pitch black until torches along both walls illuminated a long hallway that continued much farther than my field of vision allowed. I realized now that I was in Hell as I heard the agonized screams of the sinful prisoners that resided here. I was also very aware of the fact that I no longer had a weapon to defend myself with. My heart beat rose quickly and my stomach sunk, but I forced myself down the hallway.


	7. The Guardian's of Eternal Damnation

I woke up on my own, laying on the cold damp ground of the hallway. I had walked for what seemed like hours before my body just couldn't take it anymore and I was forced to sleep. It was cold here, not what I expected from Hell. I knew that this trek would be hard and smiled when I realized that this was eternal punishment, it's not supposed to be fun. I continued on down the corridor for miles, pulling my jacket closer to me as it got even chillier. Everyone always thinks brimstone and fire, but damnation can come in many ways.

It was a few more hours, I think, hard to keep track without the sun or a clock, before I began hearing the sound of water. It was both the fact that I was dying of thirst and that it cut through the silence that I had been walking through for so long that made me rush towards it. I came to an opening, the walls and ceiling like a cave, with a river running through the middle. I stooped and plunged my hand into the liquid, but pulled back nothing.

"The river Styx is not tangible, mortal," I heard a voice say to my left. I turned to see a dock with a small gondola with a skull on the bow with a glowing torch protruding from it. There was a man standing on the back of the boat with a pole. I realized this was Charon, the ferryman of the river Styx. I stood back up and walked towards the boat. "Would you like to cross the river into Tartarus?"

"Yes."

"Can you pay the fare?"

I patted my clothes, hoping there was something in there and found that I had my wallet in my jacket pocket. Why had I had it on me? I don't remember ever picking it up. I took it out, opened it and found a few coins sitting on the bottom. "How much do you need?"

"Two coins." He held out his hand and I placed two of the quarters in the boney claw. "Climb aboard." I got on the gondola and sat down as he pushed off from the dock. We began flowing down the dark waters in the unlit cave, the torch being our only light. We sat in silence for at least twenty minutes before I spoke.

"Can I ask you some questions?" I didn't know anything about Tartarus or what I was getting into and thought it might be worthwhile if he'd give me the option.

"If you would like." He was cold, like I would expect someone with the job of ferrying pleading and crying sinners to torture.

"What is Tartarus?"

"The plane of eternal damnation for all sinners of the endless worlds."

"How many worlds are there?"

"As I said, endless."

"Oh. Sorry." He didn't respond. "What god or gods exist?"

"All."

"All gods exist? Zeus and Odin?"

"Yes. They are the same."

"Wait, so gods from different pantheons are the same?"

"Yes." Made sense. If Hades was also Satan then what made other gods unable to be the same?

"What is here in Tartarus?"

"Tartarus is just a part of the Underworld. What your world refers to as Hell is just a corner of the Afterlife." He wasn't so direct with this question. I think he wanted me to ask the next question.

"So what else is here in the Underworld?"

"The gate and corridor you passed through to get from your world here is known as the Erebus. There are five rivers in the Underworld. There is Styx, the river of Hatred, which connects the mortal realms to the Underworld. There is Phlegethon, the river of fire, which leads to the top levels of Tartarus, where the thieves, adulterers and gluttonous reside. There is the river Acheron, the river of pain, which leads to the bottom levels of Tartarus, where murderers, chaos bringers and traitors are tortured. There is the river Cocytus, river of lamentation, which flows to the Asphodel Meadows, where those of neutral disposition live through eternity. And the river Lethe, of forgetfulness, which flows to Elysium, where the righteous reside. All rivers meet in the Great Marsh and can be accessed from there."

I remembered my mission. "Where is the soul of Princess Celestia of Equestria?"

"Locked in Hades' castle to null her power."

"Where does Hades reside?"

"In Tartarus."

"Which level?"

"In all."

"How is that possible."

"Tartarus is a magical maze that allows all doors to lead somewhere new. If you can get past the guardians you can get to Hades' castle."

"Guardians?"

"Look around." I did. We now flowed into a large swamp-like area. It was disgusting looking and I noticed the various rivers flowing into it from all directions. "Where do you wish to go?"

"Tartarus."

"Very well. Which path?"

"River Phlegethon?" He didn't speak as he turned the gondola and floated it into a river, which, once a bit away from the swamp, turned into a boiling red liquid, which I could only believe was blood. I waited a moment before I asked my question. "Who were these guardians you spoke of?"

"They guard all of Tartarus and stop all who wish to escape." I stopped asking questions at this point. I didn't know what else to ask. The gondola ride went on for an hour more before we came to another dock. I stepped off from the boat and he turned and sailed the other direction without another word.

"Look like I'm not going back." I faced a solid, plain wooden door. It opened with ease and lead me into another long corridor, but unlike the Erebus, this one had doors on the left and right at constant intervals. As I tried to open one door, I found it to be locked tightly. I tried a few more doors and found the same. I gave up and made my way down the hall.

Twenty or so minutes later I heard a loud bang on one of the doors behind me, making me jump out of my skin. I had been walking in silence for a while and such loud noises scared the fuck out of me. I waited a moment before another bang came from the door and then a blood curdling scream and silence. A moment later the door made a click sound and was pushed open. A man stepped out of the door, faced me and then turned and walked the other way. The door he had walked out of slammed shut and faded into a brick wall.

"What the fuck...?" I inched away from the wall, turned and ran into a door that wasn't there before. It was made of red painted metal and had an ornate handle and knocker on it. I pushed it open and was faced with a large circular room with stacks of books sitting around everywhere. I scanned through the stacks before I saw a man sitting in a chair in the center of the room. I approached him and he held up a finger to stop me.

"One second. Almost done," He spoke in an English accent. I waited until he closed the book and smiled up at me. "Alright, who might you be?"

"My name is Nicolai Imbartan."

"And what brings you to my humble abode?"

"I'm... I'm going to Hades' castle to free Princess Celestia."

His smile grew wider. Well, I regret to inform you that I'll have to try to stop you then." I got into a fighting stance and he chuckled. "Relax. You're lucky to have run across me first. I don't fight physically. I fight through riddles and puzzles." He snapped his fingers and I found that I couldn't move anymore. "We're going to play a game. I'll ask you ten questions. If you can get at least six out of ten right, I'll die where I stand and you'll be free to go. But if you get less than six right, you'll drop right there. And to be fair, I'll only use riddles from our world, alright? Ready to play?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

He laughed heartily. "Nope."

"Then shoot."

(not going to lie, this is probably the most boring fight in the story... I would not blame you to go around it. There's only one piece of important information here and it's right after the first riddle. I'd take these out if I didn't think that maybe someone might enjoy the riddles as much as I do.)

"Alright. Allan, Bertrand and Cecil were caught stealing, so the king sent them to the dungeon. But the king decided to give them a chance. He made them stand in a line and put hats on their heads. He told them that if they answer a riddle, they could go free. Here is the riddle: 'Each of you has a hat on your head. You do no know the color of the hat on your own head. If one of you can guess the color of the hat on your head, I will let you free. But before you answer you must keep standing in this line. You cannot turn around. Here are my only hints: there are only black hats and white hats. At least one hat is black and at least one had is white.' Allan couldn't see any hats. Bertrand could see Allan's hat, but not his own. Cecil could see Bertrand's hat and Allan's hat, but not his own. After one minute nobody had solved the riddle, but then a short while later, one of them solved it. Who was it and how did he know?" He smiled widely, picking up a book and sitting down. "Take your time.

I stood there, perplexed. I had no fucking idea. I was never good at riddles, never had to fucking be. I imagined the scene with the three men standing in a line. There was one white hat and one black hat. Bertrand could see Allan's and Cecil could see both. After a minute no one had said anything, but soon someone solved it. It was a fair ten minutes before it finally dawned on me.

"Bertrand knew!"

He bookmarked his page and looked up. "How do you propose?"

"There was at least one white hat and one black hat. Since Cecil could see both if both hats in front of him were black or white he would know what color his was, but since he didn't say anything that meant that the two hats in from of him were different colors, which meant that since Allan's hat was black, that made Bertrand's had white."

He clapped. "Good job! Good job! It's been a long time since someone got that one! In fact, that's the exact one I used to outsmart my demon and get out of my prison."

"What?" I was confused now.

"Oh. Well, I guess before we continue I can allow some insight into the workings of Hell. When a soul of a sinner is brought here they are locked into a room alone. After a few hours the rooms start to change and another being is formed. The changes are consistent with the sinner's fears and regrets from his life. Things he was afraid to become and everything he hated about himself. We, the guardians, are those who have defeated or outsmarted our demons and gotten out of our prisons. Where we can't go back to our homes, we decide to stay and protect Hell from invaders and keep prisoners until they can either be killed or join our ranks. That make sense?"

"Yeah, oddly."

"Good. Next riddle then. Emily was sitting at her study table, home alone, on a cold and stormy night. Her parents had taken a flight earlier in the morning to Australia as her grandmother had passed away. She had wanted to follower her parents, but she had an important English examination the next day which she could not miss.

"The storm was getting heavier by the minute and the wind was howling outside. All this noise made it very hard for her to concentrate. She was on the verge of dozing off when she was shaken alert by a sudden THUD! She dismissed it as a a window being slammed shut by the wind, until she heard the faint footsteps.

"Emily stepped outside her room and was quickly grabbed by a robber. He demanded to know where the money was. She said she didn't know and he told her not to lie to him. The phone then rang and Emily informed him that someone would get suspicious if she didn't answer the phone. He let her go to pick it up. The conversation went:

"'Hey Em! How's the revision going?' The caller asked.

"'Hey Anna. Thanks for the call. Hey you know those science notes I lent you last week? Well I really need them back. It would be a great help to me. It's an emergency, so if you could give me them tomorrow it would be great. Please hurry in finding the notes. I need to get back to my books now. Bye.' and she hung up the phone.

"The robber demanded to know where the money was kept again. She informed him that it was in her dad's room and he told her to show him. As they walked through the house the sound of police sirens filled the air. The robber was caught. Anna was outside with the police. How did she know to call for help?"

"Emily used the mute button on the phone to block out all the words except for 'help... emergency... please hurry.'"

He looked awestruck. "How did you know that so quickly?"

"It was a trick me and my brother had been taught by our dad when we were kids. It was also a fun puzzle to share with people."

His smile widened. "You're definitely a fun one. Alright. Onto the next riddle. One morning a man is leaving for a business trip and finds he left some paperwork at his office. He runs inside to get it and the night watchman stops him and says, 'Sir, don't get on the plane. I had a dream last night that the plane would crash and everyone dies.' The man takes his word and cancels the trip. Sure enough, the plane crashes and everyone dies. The next morning the man gives the watchman a $1,000 reward for saving his life and then fires him. Why did he fire the watchman that saved his life?" Once he saw the stupid expression of thought on my face again he opened his book and read.

It was about ten minutes that passed before I gave up. "I don't know the answer. Why did he?"

"The NIGHT watchman said he had dreamt of the plane crashing 'last night' meaning he was sleeping on the job."

I slapped my forehead at the obvious answer. "How the fuck did I not guess that?"

"Relax. You're still two for three."

"That's true."

"Next riddle. Pirate Pete had been captured by a Spanish general and sentenced to death by his 50-man firing squad. Pete cringed, knowing their reputations as the worst firing quad in the Spanish military. They were such bad shots that they would often miss their targets and simply maim the victims, leaving them to bleed to death. The thought of a slow painful death made Pete beg for mercy.

"'Very well, I have some compassion. You may choose where the men stand when they shoot you and I will add 50 extra men to the squad to ensure that someone at least hits you. Perhaps if they stand closer they will kill you quicker. They cannot, however, stand more than twenty feet away, they must be facing you and you must be tied to the post in the middle of the yard. And to show you I'm not totally heartless, if you're alive by sundown I'll release you and you can die peacefully outside the compound.

"After giving his instructions the general left. Upon his return the next day, he found that Pete had been set free alive and well. 'How could this happen?' He demanded. 'It where Pete made us stand,' explained the captain of the squad. Where did Pete tell them to stand?" Again he opened his book as I went into thought.

I rattled through many possible scenarios before I decided on one that sounded plausible. "He made them stand in a circle around him and they were too afraid to fire and kill one another?"

"You're good at this game. Are you sure you're not cheating?" He smiled wickedly.

"Promise." I smiled back.

"Well, shall we go to the next one then?" I nodded. "Mice are famous for their ability to multiply at breakneck speeds. A certain type of mouse gives birth once a month, birthing 12 babies each time. Baby mice mature and give birth two months after they are born. If you take a baby mouse home in ten months how many mice will you have?"

"One," I answered quickly, barely giving time between the question and my answer. "The mouse can't reproduce on its own."

"Dammit. Can you at least look like you're thinking it through?" He still smiled. "You're four for five. Just two more and you will win. Here's the next one.

"A man is sitting at a bar feeling rather poor. He sees the man sitting next to him with a wad of fifty dollar bills. He turns to the rich man and says to him, 'I have an amazing talent: I know almost every song that has ever existed.' The rich man laughs. The poor man says: 'I am willing to bet you all the money you have in your wallet that I can sing a genuine song with a lady's name of your choice in it.'

"The rich man laughs again and says: 'Okay, how about my daughter's name, Joanna Armstrong-Miller?'

"The rich man goes home poor. The poor man goes home rich. What song did he sing?"

Again I had to stop and think. He took up his book once more and left me to my thoughts. I spent almost an hour trying to think of a song where that name would come into play, but came up with nothing. "I give up."

"He sang her 'Happy Birthday.' The song can be sang with anyone's name in it."

I actually chuckled at this. "Alright, that was a good one."

"You're four for six. Keep it up. Next. One day a scholar came to the court of Emperor Akbar and challenged Birbal to answer his questions and thus prove that he was as clever as people said he was.

"He asked Birbal: 'Would you prefer to answer a hundred easy questions or just a single difficult one?'

"Both the emperor and Birbal had had a difficult day and were impatient to leave.

"'Ask me one difficult question,' Said Birbal.

"'Well, then tell me. Which came first into the world, the chicken or the egg?'

"'The chicken,' Replied Birbal, very confidently.

"'How do you know,' asked the scholar, a note of triumph in his voice.

"What did Birbal answer to this?"

Another ten minutes passed. "I give up on this one too."

"He answered: 'We had agreed you would only ask one question and you already asked it.' And he and the emperor took their leave."

I sighed. "Dammit..."

Crossword laughed. "You're still in the lead. Don't get discouraged. Just gotta remember to think outside the box. Next. A boy goes and buys a fishing pole that is six feet, three inches long. As he goes to get on the buss, the bus driver tells him that he can't take anything on the bus longer than six feet. The boy goes back to town, buys one more thing, and the bus driver allows him on the bus. What did he buy, and what did he do with it?"

I remembered this from a school quiz back in high school and answered quickly. "He bought a six foot case, put the fishing rod inside it diagonally and, since the box wasn't more than six feet long, he was allowed to take it with him."

"Good answer! Alright. This has the potential to be the last one. Are you ready?"

I shook my head. "If I get this next one right, don't you die?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yes. But that's fine. I've died once before. Not afraid of doing it again."

"Ah. I'm ready when you are."

"Okay. There are ten people in a house. Everybody wants to shake hands with only people shorter than themselves. Assume everybody is different in height. How many hand shakes are made?"

I counted out on my fingers the number of people at the party and as I drew to a conclusion something dawned on me. "None."

"Explain?"

"No handshakes would be exchanged, since everyone wants to shake the hand of someone shorter than them, but the shorter people DON'T want to shake the hands of the taller ones, then no one would ever exchange handshakes, because even if a tall person approached a shorter person, the shorter wouldn't accept."

His claps were quick and congratulatory. He smiled widely and I noticed that his skin was becoming transparent. I could move again too. "Good job, kid. You're a smart one. I wish you luck in getting your princess back." He smiled one last smile at me before he was completely gone. I didn't know what to think at the moment, but I heard a loud click from the door opposite the one I entered from. It was unlocked now and it was the way I needed to go and that's the way I went.

Again I was greeted with a corridor full of locked doors. As I traversed it I thought back to the confrontation I had just got through. It was strange and out of place. Maybe Hell wouldn't be so hard to get through after all. I came to the next door, stepped inside and my thoughts on that changed drastically.

The room was bare. The walls were white and the large round area was completely void of anything save for the lone figure in the center of it. He wore a black cowl, gloves, pants, cape. He was basically just what you would imagine the grim reaper would look like. He held two short swords and was facing me. There was no dialogue between us before he rushed at me, swinging the blades in a trained and fluid manner. I barely dodged each of the attacks, jumping back as best I could, but he kept pushing at me. I finally blocked one of the attacks with my left arm, feeling the stinging pain of my flesh and muscle being cut, but my bones stopping it. My fist connected to the side of his head and he stumbled back, straightened up and cracked his neck.

"Who the fuck are you?" I asked, but he didn't answer. His swords were his words as he charged me again. I dodged around the attacks, hitting him when I could. I realized that he was definitely a sword dancer, twisting his body around, jumping and rolling as he attacked, making him very hard to read. The swords cut up my skin and clothes pretty badly as he hit me over and over. As I bled I started to become angry. "Rush!" I yelled, using another technique I had taught myself as a kid. Rush allowed me to move faster and hit harder than I could before through psychological training. If I was losing to Will I'd yell "Rush" and push my body to its limits and soon it became something I could access pretty easily, but it would leave me sore and tired.

My movements sped up and I started pushing him back. He kept dancing, but he was now dodging my hits. I took more and more of his hits and he took more and more of mine. As his swing came down on me I grabbed the sword and tore it from his hand and threw it across the room, following through by taking the other one from him, as well. I grabbed his shirt and lifted him off the ground, throwing him across the room, near the wall. He began standing up and I ran towards him, jumped into the air and brought my knee into his head. The sword dancer's head slammed into the wall and I jumped back away from him, leapt forward and began smashing his skull with multiple hooks. As I heard the bones cracking under the cowl and threw harder hits before he went completely limp. I let him fall before I stomped on his head, making sure he was one hundred percent dead. As soon as I was sure that he was dead I turned around and went to go pick up the swords, but found that they weren't even in the room anymore. I heard shuffling behind me and the man tackled me, sitting on my chest to keep me on the ground. As he struck me repeatedly I felt nothing more than the initial hit and then the next. My bones couldn't break by normal strength and this man definitely didn't have the strength necessary.

I took him by his neck and threw him off of me, standing and kicking him down as he attempted to stand. "How the fuck are you still alive? How do you survive having your fucking head smashed in?" I kept kicking him down when he attempted to stand. "What are you?" I kicked him again. "Are you some kind of Immortal? Well, from what I can see you're not invincible, so I'll continue to hit you until you never move again!" I pushed him down one more time, picked him up by his throat and began crushing his skull with my fist again. As soon as he went limp I dragged him into the air and threw his body at the ground, head first. He hit it with a sickening thud. I stood and waited and he began to move again. My boots stopped the ascent of his body and he was put back on the ground. I flipped him onto his back and knelt down. "Let's see what you look like, eh?"

I tore the cowl off his head and was faced with a horrifying sight. As the hood and mask came off his body went fully limp as I watched maggots and spiders crawling over a nearly fleshless skull. The skull was unharmed and I realized that the clothes had been both keeping him alive and healing every attack I had put onto him. Now that he was exposed, however... My fist broke open the skull and the body caught fire.

As the fire began to go out I noticed something else. The body was disappearing, just like Crossword's had. What the fuck was going on? Hell was fucking weird. I moved to the next door and exited into the next hallway full of doors. It was quiet as fuck yet again and I became uncomfortable again. As the horribly long hallway came to another red door I steeled myself before I stepped inside. The room was similar to the arena that had been build from Canterlot by the demon. The floor was dirt and the walls made of stone with seats and a high roof. There was no one inside save for me and the man in the middle of the room, much like the previous two. He was already facing me.

"So, you're the one that took down Crossword and Equinox?" His voice sounded familiar, but hard to place.

"I... Yeah?" I answered back. I didn't know how to approach this situation.

"Nicolai Imbartan. General of the Equestrian Military of the land of Equestria-135963."

"What?"

"That's the number of the Equestria you hail from. There are a lot of them you know. Hundreds of thousands. Each world born of a different sky, different thoughts and beings, yet they never stray too far from the prime. You remember the show back on your Earth? The My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic?" I nodded. "That's Equestria Prime. It's the purest form of Equestria in all the known worlds. It was the original. All of the Equestrias born after it were branches of it. Each world born of anything from minor to major differences. There are infinite worlds out there. Infinite souls. But sooner or later they all converge here. They all pay for their sins or revel in Paradise once they die. Unlike what it looks like with the doors and such, Hell can never fill and neither can Paradise. Every soul is given their own personal punishment or pleasures.

"Those sent to Tartarus are given a room, specifically designed to torture them. They are tortured by their Demons. Creatures meant to house that soul's fears and unreached dreams. Meant to mock them and cause them the most pain possible in all shapes and sizes. We, the Guardians of Hell, are the ones who beat out our Demons. We're the ones who fought through our damnation and came out on top. Crossword was afraid of being dumb and pathetic, but he still couldn't beat his Demon in a battle of physical strength... So he outsmarted his. Equinox had an unreached dream of becoming the most powerful being in his world, which caused his Demon to be much stronger than him, taking on the embodiment of his unreached dreams. Equinox killed his Demon, but at the cost of being free from his demonic clothing.

"Me... Well, I'm the exception. Do I look familiar to you Nick?" I looked him over. He had short white hair, about three inches long. His eyes were both pure white, but there was a ring of gray that let me know where his iris started. It was when I saw his throat that I thought I knew who he was. There were three vertical scars across his neck.

I got into fighting stance. "Stormbreak!"

He laughed. "Close. I'm Stormbreak's Demon. I'm his unreached dreams and his fears. The scars stayed because he feared what had caused them, that damnable beast that Rarity made. I'm blind in both my eyes, though I don't really need them to see here. I'm his dreams of gaining power, of being loved. He didn't want to be as cruel as he was. Hell, when he was younger he dreamed of saving the world through kindness, but that slowly got distorted and he quickly became a power hungry monster, but he still held onto the dreams of old... I'm not going to hurt you here Nick. I want you to fight through the rest of my Lieutenants. I want to meet you at the entrance to Hades' castle. There I'll fight you. Go, quickly." He pointed towards the exit door. I made my move towards it. "But before you go, take this." He tossed me a black and red ring. "That ring is a Hell ring. There's only two of its kind. I hold both of them. That one's yours. Her name is Lilith. She'll teach you how to use her. Go."

I made my way out of the room and into another hallway. I looked down at the ring as the door closed behind me. What had just happened? I was so confused. After looking it over I slid the ring on my middle finger on my right hand and felt it tightly grasp onto me. I began freaking out when I heard a voice speak into my head.

"Relax," The calming female voice said to me. "My name is Lilith. You're my new master?"

"Uh... Yes?"

She giggled. "You don't seem sure."

"I'm... new to this..."

"I can tell. Don't worry. I'll help you out. Hold out your hand like you're being handed a sword." I did so. "Now don't be alarmed." As she said this a large black and red battleaxe appeared in my hand, much larger than any weapon I'd seen before, even my father's sword. "You've killed a lot of people, Master."

"What?"

"The weapons I create are made stronger or weaker by the amount of people my Master has killed or hurt. Your weapon is large and very strong, which means you've killed more than a few people in your time."

I swung the weapon around effortlessly. I was amazed as to how easily this easily ten foot long battleaxe was swung with a single hand. It must weigh over eight hundred pounds. "How exactly am I able to wield this?"

"It's your soul weapon. It isn't really there in the sense of existing in reality. It's like, if you were able to use air as a weapon, that's what this is. It's your sinful soul energy being physically manifested by me."

"Stormbreak... er... His Demon said that he had another ring like you?"

"Yes. He has Michael, the ring of righteousness. He is made into weapons of great strength by those souls the Master has helped or saved."

"How strong is Stormbreak's Demon with Michael?"

"His weapon is much stronger than your axe is."

"Well, fuck..." A thought hit me. "What is that Demon's name?"

"Falchion. He's the Sergeant of the Guardians of Hell."

"So he's the leader?"

"Yes. He answers directly to Hades himself."

"That sounds promising."

"Don't worry. He's a good man as long as you don't cross him."

"Well, he's still my enemy, so that's crossing enough I think."

"Quite possibly. Anyway, you've been fighting without weapons for a bit now, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Then I should be able to help you through the next few Lieutenants before we get to Hades' castle."

"It'll be nice to have a physical weapon if I have to fight these guys."

"And you will. There's no one else like Crossword in the bunch."

"Swell."

It was another bit of walking before the red door came into view. I opened it and was greeted with a large forest of blue leaved trees with, what looked like, metal trunks. The foliage was almost all green, including the grass and was all so thick that I couldn't see more than twenty or so feet in front of me.

"What is this?"

"This is Tark's home."

"Tark?"

"The fifth Lieutenant. He's a very interesting creature. That's all I'll say."

I heard the stomping footsteps as they drew closer and suddenly a group of trees flew into the air and I was faced with a large monstrous beast. He had four sets of eyes on his head, allowing him to see in all directions. He also had four arms, two facing his front and the others facing his back. His legs were long and easily more than four feet long each with two knee joints on either. His body was mainly muscle and I could tell he was a strong one. He spotted me.

"You intruder?" He said, speaking dumbly at me.

"Yeah? What of it?" I decided to be more abrupt and brave now.  
>"You kill friends?" He was yelling now.<p>

"Yup."

"Tark going to kill you!" he swung his arms down on me. I jumped back and watched as he smashed the ground where I had stood into a crater of dust. Great, I was fighting the alien Hulk. He leapt towards me, his back facing arms twisting and turning to face me. This was seriously going to be a run for my money. I jumped around, dodging his attacks as best as possible, but finding him hard to keep up with. He smashed his forearm against my chest and I slammed through a group of trees before coming to a halt.

"Your ribs have been cracked..." Lilith started, almost like the suit from Half-life. "... Amazing! Your bones are made of metal! I wouldn't get hit again though."

"Duly noted." I stood back up and summoned my battleaxe. I used the horrifyingly sharp weapon to take down a couple of the trees before the brute charged into the clearing. He growled loudly, pounding on the ground, shaking it violently. He knelt down, bending both his knee joints in opposite directions and jolted towards me. His speed was incredible, but he gave me enough time to prepare and I swung the axe at his closest arm, taking it off. He didn't seem too fazed as he slid to a stop, turned around and leapt at me again. The speed took me off guard and he dragged me through another bunch of trees, stopped himself and proceeded to lift me up and bang me into the ground a few times. My head was starting to ache horribly as the monster beat the fuck out of me. Once he backed off a bit I saw him start bending his knees again, this time aiming upwards. He was going to stomp on me! As he jumped I rolled out of the way and ran as fast as I could from the spot that he would land, but the shock wave still sent me tumbling. Once I regained my balance I was punched from behind and sent soaring through a row of already destroyed trees, thank the gods. I rolled and bounced a few times until I hit the wall of the room. It cracked and a few bricks hit me as they fell. I got up slowly, a bit dazed, to see Tark charging again.

"Come on!" I yelled, exasperated. I dodged to the right and he slammed into the bricks. He got stuck for a moment and I took the chance to summon my axe and take off his legs. His screams echoed through the wall and soon he broke out of it. He pushed himself up on his last three arms and began coming towards me. "No, seriously! What in the fuck!" He was a lot slower now and it gave me the time to aim my attack. I cleaved his head in half, spattering myself with goop. I didn't stop then. I continued to hack away at the body, not knowing exactly what drove this fucked up monster, but once it started to dissipate I knew he was finished.

"Good job, Master!" Lilith said. "Your vitals are normal. You should live through your wounds."

"Thanks. I think I could have figured that out when I didn't die." I was too much pain to fucking care what she had to say and I think she knew that as she remained silent through the first half of the next hall of doors. "Lilith?"

"Yes, Master?" She sounded saddened.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier."

"I forgive you, Master." The ring squeezed my finger tighter and I realized that was her version of a hug.

"So how many of these Lieutenants are left?" I asked after a moment.

"Two. Lieutenant number 1 and Lieutenant number three."

"They have names?"

"I'm sure, but I don't know them. Wasn't part of my job to know them all."

"Alright. I guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we?" I saw the red door ahead that would lead to the next "boss battle." The door opened soundlessly and I stepped inside to hear it slam behind me. It was a dim room with nothing in it save for three small towers and the Lieutenant I knew I would be fighting next. He turned to face me and smiled.

"Welcome!" He walked towards me and held out his hand. "Philip Tayon, at your service!" I didn't shake and he took his hand back, smiling all the while. "So you're the man who has killed three of the Guardians, eh? Well, you're not getting past me, that's for sure." He moved his hand to the side and a staff appeared in it. It was large, ornate and very pretty. He pointed it towards me and a large ball grew from the tip, which he took in his opposite hand. "Are you ready, intruder?"

I summoned my axe and readied myself. "As ready as I'll ever be." He threw the ball at me and as I blocked it, it split and then reformed in time to hit me head on. I tilted backwards, but after Tark I wasn't getting knocked off my feet that easily. I thought of something and whispered to Lilith: "Can I throw the axe and then summon it back?"

"You know... I never thought about that. Well, I never leave you, so you can always summon it back. Go ahead and try it." I did, throwing the large weapon in a horizontal swing at Tayon. It hit him with the handle and I thought it back to my hand.

"Sweet!" I said, happy at the discovery. Tayon laughed as well.

"So you have one of the Hell rings? Falchion is a horrible leader. He should never have been put in charge. Just because he's a powerful Demon doesn't mean he's fit to rule. Hades has his head up his ass..."

"I get it, you think you should be the one to run the Guardians. Can you please shut the fuck up? I'm in a hurry!"

"You insolent little piece of..." My fist connected to his face at this point. I was seriously getting tired of this super-villain ramble bullshit. As a few more hits landed on him he yelled: "Stop!" I was struck by a bolt of electricity and sent flying backwards away from him. "I'm going to destroy you!"

"I've been told that a lot!" I closed the gap between us relatively quick and swung my weapon down at him, but it met with air as his visage disappeared into thin air. I turned and saw hundreds of him standing around the entire room. "Oh, you're fucking kidding me!" I lifted the axe and threw it through about ten of the illusions, summoned it back and did so again. It was on the third time that my attack was blocked by a large wall of ice that appeared around the real one. "Found you, motherfucker!" I slammed the axe against the ice, but watched as every dent I put into it was replaced with more ice.  
>"Master?"<p>

"Yes, Lilith?"

"I have something that might help here." I felt a memory enter into my mind and I knew a new attack. I backed up away from the ice barrier and rested the axe on my shoulder, took a deep breath and swung it horizontally while yelling:  
>"Torturer's Punishment!" A wave of black smoke emitted from the blade and when it made contact with the entire barrier exploded into pointy shards. They didn't pierce too deeply into my flesh, but they still stung.<p>

"How in the hell did you do that?" Tayon asked as he stood from his crouched position.

"My weapon is a bit stronger than I thought." I looked the axe over with happiness.

"Still not enough, I'm sure of that." He held his hands out and the ball and staff appeared again.

"Bring it!" He threw the ball at me again and I slashed at it. It broke along my slash and then connected together again. I dodged it this time and then slashed the Torturer's Punishment at him again. He threw up another ice barrier, which exploded on contact, but saved his life from my attack. I felt the ball connect to the back of my head and stumbled a bit. I leapt forward and slashed vertically. "Flayed Souls!" The attack wasn't my thoughts that gave me this attack and I knew Lilith was giving me more. This attack was a vertical slash similar to Torturer's Punishment. The black smoke flew at him quickly, but he dodged out of the way and swung his staff at me, sending about twenty or so lightning bolts in my direction. "Unbreakable Tomb!" The electricity was absorbed by an invisible coffin-shaped barrier around me. Once the lightning stopped completely Tayon spoke.

"How the hell are you doing these things?" He swung his staff wildly, launching a bunch of bolts in my direction. I blocked it again with Unbreakable Tomb, but he kept launching them at me. I decided to stop using the barrier and took a few of the bolts. I felt it going through my metal bones and into my organs, but I attempted to keep going through it.

"Nightmare Hurricane!" I spun around with the axe outstretched, causing a large black cyclone to appear around me, redirecting the lightning away from me. Once the darkness and winds broke up I let go of the battleaxe towards Tayon. He blocked it with his ice barrier. I summoned it back rested it on my shoulder again.

"You're stronger than I gave you credit for. I don't think we're going to get very far in this fight. We could keep chipping away at one another until one of us gets too tired to go on or we can both walk away from this relatively unscathed." His weaponry disappeared and held up his hands in a sign of peace.

I dismissed my weapon and moved towards him. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I like to make deals. In fact that's how I won out against my Demon back in my punishment. He was even more addicted to these deals than I was, with good reason, so when I offered up a deal, he gladly took it. I gave him half of my power to be free from my hell. So, here's the deal I offer you..." He thought about it for a second. "Give me the sight from your left eye and I'll let you leave."

"My sight?"

"From your left eye, yes."

"Why so specific?"

He shrugged. "I can't take anything else from you that would work for this deal. The traded items must be of the same value. You value your left eye's sight as much as I value keeping you in here. Trade me that and I'll let you go free."

I thought for a moment and realized that he was right. We couldn't keep fighting like this. I needed to get the fuck out of here as quickly as possible. "Alright. I agree to this deal."

"Good." He held out his hand and I shook it. My left eye became enveloped in pain and I fell to the ground, clutching at my head. I yelled and shouted until it stopped. When I opened my eyes again I could only see from my right eye, as expected. "There we go. You're free to leave now."

I made my way to the door and walked through it, leaning against it once it closed. I tried to adjust as best I could to this new handicap. I summoned the axe and swung it experimentally, finding that I could hit certain marks still.

"Master, are you alright?"

"Yeah. There's only one more Lieutenant and Falchion to go, right?"

"Yes. And Hades."

"I don't know if I can do this anymore, Lilith."

"Master? What was your reason for coming here? What drove you this far?"

"I have a world to save. I need a specific soul that's locked up in Hades' castle to save that world."

"Then why would you stop now?"

I sighed. "You're right." I pushed myself off of the door and looked down at the axe and at the half-black hallway ahead of me. "Let's go."

The next room was very large. Much larger than the others. It was also brighter and had a sky above it full of clouds and warm sunshine. This seemed so strange after everything else I'd seen in Hell so far. I heard the something zoom by above me. I couldn't quite pinpoint it, but it flew by again and this time the creature landed in front of me and my jaw dropped.

"Rainbow Dash!" She was wearing a dark red jacket over a blue shirt and black pants. I noticed the large punching daggers that she held in each hand. Her wings were also different, having been cut off by Skyblade they had been replaced by what looked like bat wings. She stood strong and showed that she still held disdain for me.

"Nick... What are you doing here?" Her voice was full of malice.

"I've come to free Princess Celestia. We need her help back in Equestria to free it from..."

"Abaddon?"

"What?"

"Abaddon. He's a Demon that escaped after he killed his soul. He killed one of the Lieutenants and escaped before the rest of us could stop him. So he landed in Equestria, huh?"

"Yes! And he needs to be stopped!"

"I don't care. You're not going any farther!" She jumped up into the air and I knew that the time for talk was over. I summoned my battleaxe, but spoke once more.

"Rainbow... Please, come with me! I can take you to see your father."

"Shut up! Last time someone told me they could do that, they used me for their own personal gain! I'm not listening to this bullshit anymore!" She swooped down, slashing at me with the blades. I moved quickly to get out of her way. I began to use one of the flying attacks, but I realized I didn't want to hurt her. I really did want to take her to see her father. I knew I could go back home and take her with me. I'm sure Brian would love to see his daughter again too, even if it was in this strange, unfamiliar form. I dismissed the axe again and got ready for her next attack. As the blades connected to my chest I was flown back a fair distance before she stopped abruptly, launching me across the ground. I stood, brushed myself off and waited. The next hit came quickly and was far more painful. She flew me far into the air and dropped me. I slammed hard into the ground, spitting up blood and losing my ability to breath for a moment. When I stood and saw her standing in front of me with tears in her eyes. I waited a minute before she spoke.

"Why did it all have to come to this? Why did I have to die? Why was I separated from my dad?" She was sobbing violently now and I moved towards her. I embraced her and she dropped the weapons and hugged me back. "Nick... Can you promise me you'll be able to take me to see my dad again?"

"No. I can't promise it. What I can promise is that I will do my best to take you to see him. I will do everything in my power to find a way."

"Thank you..." We held the embrace for a while longer.

We did leave soon after that. I hadn't expected it to be so easy to get through to her. I guess anything is better than Hell and being offered something you wanted horribly is better than staying in this damnable place forever. We moved through yet another one of the long door-covered fuckeries. This time the door was much larger and black. It took a bit of effort, but we finally moved it and we were faced with an amazing sight. There was a large black castle that rested on a large chunk of land held up by a sole bridge of land. Below this island was a lake made up of just pure darkness, the waves of which could barely be made out. We pressed towards the castle when I heard a familiar voice.

"Nick." We turned to face Falchion as he approached. He was smiling widely and nodded towards Rainbow Dash. "Ms. Dash. I'm glad to see you made it through the other Lieutenant's Nicolai. Are you ready for our battle?"

"Why are you so happy?" I was thoroughly confused.

"Because, it's my dream to find a worthy opponent. Get your weapon ready." He held up his hand and a large blue and white sword was firmly in his grasp. I brought my hand up and my axe appeared.

"Master, I think Rainbow thinks she's going to fight as well," Lilith let me know.

I turned to see Rainbow in fighting stance. "Rainbow. This is my fight. Please, stand back."

"Nick..." She was about to argue, but I stopped her.

"Please." She understood and stepped out of the way. I turned back to Falchion. "Where were we?"

He smiled wider. "We're at the point where you and me fight to the death." He charged forward and slashed the large blade at me, which I dodged away from. I swung at his feet as I rolled, but he jumped the attack. He swung down while he was still in the air. I rolled over and barely blocked before it would have connected to my chest. He pulled the blade away and I quickly rolled and stood up, jumping back away from him. He laughed. "You're good. Just like I remember." He charged at me, this time going harder than before. As I blocked the attack I was sent flying backwards about thirty feet before coming to a stop. My axe came down at him as he continued towards me. He parried it and I fell off balance, stumbling for a moment and ducking his next attack. He didn't let up though and spun the sword overhand and brought it down on me again. It connected to my shoulder and pushed me into the ground, but didn't cut through. His boot came around and kicked me in the left side of my head, bouncing me across the ground again. Before my body stopped bouncing I was kicked again, sent farther from the castle than before. It all finally stopped and I shakily pushed myself up to my hands a knees. Falchion stood over me, a smile on his face.

"I thought you were supposed to be kind?" I asked, spitting out blood.

"I am. That's why you're not dead yet. But I'm also meant to protect what I swore to protect, and that castle is that. Get up, Nick. We're not done yet."

I stood, propping myself up with the axe. Falchion was damn strong, showing how strong Stormbreak wanted to become. I shook off the pain and weakness as best I could and lifted my weapon to face Falchion. "I won't back down. Not until you either kill me or I get into that castle!" I wasn't losing. Not here.

"That's the spirit! Fight for your dreams! Let's see what you can do!" He readied himself.

I leaped forward. "Flayed Souls!" the vertical blast of black swung out at my opponent. He jumped away, barely dodging the blow.

"So we're onto those then? Alright. Heaven's Gate!" He thrust the sword in my direction and a ring of blue light sailed towards me. I didn't have time to dodge it and felt the piercing cold it caused as it connected to my shins. My pants had a deep layer of frost on them and I knew that my legs did too and it took me til Falchion yelled out the attack again to get me moving. I jumped into the middle of the ring, dodging through it. He yelled it once again and as I jumped through it again I yelled:

"Torturer's Punishment!"

The attack was almost on him when he shouted out his next tactic. "Retribution Shield!" All of the smoke dissipated into a shield-shaped barrier of white. After a few seconds the shield broke and my attack was launched back at me.

"Unbreakable Tomb!" I barely blocked it in time. As the barrier broke around me I swung the axe again, yelling a number of attacks in succession. "Torturer's Punishment! Flayed Souls! Torturer's Punishment!"

"Paradise Guardians! Retribution Shield!" All of my attacks were blocked by the same shield, but as the smoke cleared I noticed the other two shields and the humanoid figures behind them. They were copies of Falchion built out of ice. As the realization dawned on me the shields all broke simultaneously and I was bombarded by deadly attacks.

"Unbreakable Tomb!" I shouted, hoping it would work. I breathed a sigh of relief as it did. I felt the explosions and heat as the smoke turned into fire around me. It all cleared up and my defense went down again. I couldn't take them down with distance, they'd just block it and fire it back at me again and again. I decided the best course of action was to physically attack them. Approaching them became hectic as they continued to launch the ice rings at me. They weren't too hard to dodge from afar, but that changed when I got nearer and I started to take hits. My body started to freeze over, but I pressed forward as hard as I could until I was within reach of the ice copies, which I took down with single strikes each. Once they were down I faced Falchion and was hit hard in the stomach by his blade. It sent me into the rock wall, breaking the ice that covered my body and the cloth skin that it covered went with it. I was a ragged, ripped and bleeding mass of pain on the floor, but I managed to push myself back up.

"You really do have the heart to continue to fight? That's amazing! I'm glad." Falchion laughed.

"Shut the fuck up!" I growled, my muscles doing everything they could to keep me upright. "I'm going to show you my true power!" I took a deep breath. "RUSH!" I screamed. My feet pounded on the stone below us as I charged my opponent with my newfound speed and strength. Our weaponry clashed and his feet slid back along the ground. I continued to unleash on the Sergeant of Hell itself.

I placed a kick into his chest, sending him sprawling backwards. I jumped back and threw the axe in his direction, catching him off guard. It hit him in the chest, gashing deep into his body. I called it back, pushed off the ground and landed another blow onto his left shoulder, cutting the arm below clean off. The punch knocked him to the ground and I stood over my fallen opponent with my axe ready for the killing blow. His expression changed from pain and confusion to a lighthearted smile.

"I'm glad I ran into you, Nick." His weapon disappeared and he took the light blue ring off his finger and held it out to me. "Here. Take this. It'll help. I'm glad you chose to go on the path to Hades' castle that you did. If you chose the lower path the other ten guardians would have been your burden instead of my ragtag team." A knowing smile crossed his lips. "Thank you for showing me the heart of a true hero. Goodbye my friend." His body began dissipating before my eyes. I looked down at the whit ring and slid it on my middle finger on my left hand.

"Hell, Master," A male voice said from inside my mind.

"Michael, I take it?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good to meet you."

"You as well."

"Let's see how this weapon works out then, shall we?" I held out my left hand and summoned the weapon. It was a longsword, showing frightening sharpness like the axe and the same ease of use.

"You have helped many and saved many more. Your heart is corrupt, but has a pure goal. I'll be glad to work for you, Master."

"Nick, are you alright?" Rainbow Dash's voice snapped me back to the reality I was in. I felt the pain begin to cover my whole body as the missing skin and blood loss took their toll. I steadied myself, however.

"Yes. Let's finish this as quickly as possible." We ran into the large castle ahead of us. The halls were empty and poorly lit with blue torches. It wasn't hard to navigate our way through to the upper levels where we found an empty room, save for a large chair and several cages lining the walls. Most of the cages were empty, except for one. I ran towards it as I recognized the soul that inhabited it. "Celestia!"

She looked up and smiled. "Imbartan! Why are you here?"

"I came to free you. There's really big problems going on in Equestria and you're the only one who can help us."

"Too bad she's not leaving, eh?" A gruff and sadistic voice said to my left. Sitting on the throne was a tall man in armor. His hair was brown, as were his eyes. His large smile and crooked teeth nearly sent me into tears.

"It's not possible..." I said, falling to my knees.

"Oh, it's possible. I knew you'd make it here some day, Nick. You and your brother always had that promise. You two would make your way here to be tested, like I always dreamed."

"Dad... How...?"

"When I died I was sent into my hell. Of course I busted out and destroyed everything that stood in my way between me and the Devil that held this throne in the past. Once he died at my hands I took the throne and all the power it entailed. I've been waiting for you and your brother, Nick. You're the first to arrive. I'm glad."

"But, how did you know that me or Will would keep fighting after your death? It was coincidence that I had to. Will hasn't had to fight like I have and I barely made it here."

"You think it was coincidence that you landed in Equestria? No, no, no. It was all me, son. I put you into that horrid world in its worst time and you have proven that you are stronger than I had ever imagined. Will? I would have put him into my world the instant he was old enough to lift a sword and hunt for the great treasure, the One Piece. You two were meant for greatness! You two always held the promise that Jason never did!" I watched as my father's visage became more ravaged and horrid and his words became louder. "You two would never back down from a fight! And when I died and your whore of a mother moved onto that abusive Wallace I watched as you two fought with all your heart while Jason left you to fend for yourselves! I sent you back home when she was about to die so you could get a new drive! You were driven to prove to your dead parents that your life was worth living! That you would become something more than a waste of space! That you're s-"

"Did you just call my mother a fucking whore!" I stood sharply, my rage increasing drastically.

He smiled wider. "Does that offend you? That your mother moved on from the man who saved her life to fuck some random stranger she knew nothing about? She was a whore, Nicolai, and nothing more than useless!"

"Shut the fuck up!" I summoned both of my weapons and listened as my father laughed maniacally.

"You think you can take your old man? Then let's see what you can do, boy! I'll show you the power of the great Dread Pirate Oliander Imbartan!" He teleported a few inches away from me and his punch tore through me, sending me across the entire throne room. I was picked up and hurled into the nearby wall, grabbed midair and slammed hard into the ground. He grabbed my leg and flailed me around, hitting the floor continuously with me. Once he let me go the pain all hit me like a wave and I couldn't move. "You may be strong, but you're nothing compared to the power I've gained here, Nick. Nothing!"

"I wouldn't be so fucking sure." I stood up, no longer caring about the pain I felt. My adrenaline was coursing through my veins more than my blood. My punch caused him to stumble and I kept unloading until he finally hit me back. I slid to a stop and brought back my weapons. I felt the new attacks flow into my mind and I smiled at the uses. "Fallen Angel's Cry!" The axe emitted a blue wave surrounded by black smoke. It moved much faster than Torturer's Punishment or Flayed Souls had. My father didn't have time to get out of the way before it struck him across the abdomen. It froze at first, causing him to cringe in pain, but then it exploded into fire. The flames stopped as soon as they arrived, but he wasn't happy with the damage he had taken.

"You think you're so damned clever with those fucking rings! I'm going to break your arms and see if you can use them then." He disappeared again and I was grappled from behind, him pulling my arms back. "You're not a true Imbartan. You're just a lousy pie-" He was thrown from me as Rainbow knocked him away. He smacked her aside, but forgot about her quickly. Michael and Lilith returned.

"Torturer's Punishment!" The horizontal wave of black smoke pelted him in flames. "Heaven's Gate!" The ring made contact and froze his body where it hit. "Fallen Angel's Cry!" I swung both blades horizontally, causing two parallel attacks to hit him in the chest and head. The ice covered both regions and then exploded. He fell and I breathed a sigh of relief. Rainbow approached me, limping slightly from her impact into the wall. Celestia smiled brightly at us as we approached, but her gaze became frightened as she looked behind us. I pushed Rainbow out of the way. "Unbreakable Tomb!" His hit contacted the barrier and I felt the shock. My father continued to pound on the shield, but I knew it wouldn't stay up much longer. "Retribution Shield," I said, the glowing white shield appeared in front of me. He flew into a worsened rage and hit it harder. It pleased me to no end when his six or so punches were thrown back at him as it broke.

"I am sick of this!" He screamed, standing from his own barrage.

"Good, because so am I!" We charged one another. "Noah's Blades!" Thousands of small red, blue, black and white weapons began falling from the sky like rain. "Lazarus' Protection!" My body was protected from the knives and daggers as they collided with my steel-strength skin and my father's unprotected flesh. He fell to his knees, impaled and cut horribly. "Paradise Guardians." The two ice copies of me found their places in a triangle around him. Our minds were one and they followed my mental order.

First we froze his legs in place, we proceeded to attack him with various attacks ranging from my smoke waves to rings of ice and even physical attacks. Our last attack however, the Nightmare Hurricane, was what shattered my father's body and soul. He laid in tatters, bloody and beaten. His facial structure began to take the form of my father's yet again, the kind and loving one I remembered from when I was young.

"Nick... I'm sorry... For everything..." He was breathing raggedly and wheezing out his words. "I love you... and your brothers... Your mother raised you boys right and I... Love her too... Never forget that... I really didn't mean... What I said..." He died and his corpse went away like the rest.

"I love you too, Dad." I waited until his body was completely gone. We freed Celestia and she actually hugged me.

"Thank you!" She hugged Rainbow. "Thank you both! I've been kept prisoner here since after I escaped. Your father thought I was a wonderful prize to be kept and locked me up."

"Why?" Rainbow asked.

"He said I was the strongest magical creature that has gotten out of their hell in all eternity and was too dangerous to let just roam around or leave." She shook the thought away. "This isn't about me. You said you came to free me because Equestria was in trouble?"

"Yes. A demon escaped from here and took over Equestria. He's killed almost all the civilians and turned them into mindless slaves. You're the only one that I think can stop him." I answered.

She looked saddened. "As happy as I am that you saved me, Nicolai, I cannot go back with you."

"Why the fuck not?" I was distressed, in pain and tired and unless she had a good reason...

"I can't actually leave. If we leave Hell unguarded without a god figure, then it will fall apart and the monsters and sinners will be able to escape. Trust me, I never thought I would have been the ruler of Hell, but I know what holds this place together. I'm going to have to keep it together."

"Then how the hell am I supposed to stop this fucking Demon? He's even more powerful than my father!" I wasn't happy at all.

"There's a weapon that can help you kill him."

"How? What is it?"

"The Sword of Harmony."

"What?"

"The Sword of Harmony. I know you had it. Your father was watching you wield it in battle not too long ago."

"You mean his old sword? That black blade?"

"Yes! Your father used that weapon a thousand years ago to trounce through Luna's soldiers and even helped me banish her. That sword can hold the six Elements of Harmony, but can only be used by the seventh Element. Determination. You're that determination. You fought through Tartarus to save me to save an entire world! A world you love! You fought down your own father to stop untimely deaths of all of the Ponies you choose to protect. If that's not determination, then I don't know what is. Get the Sword of Harmony, Nicolai. Get the Elements. Activate the weapon and defeat that monstrous demon!" She looked at Rainbow. "Go with him, Rainbow Dash. Help him free Equestria, alright?" Rainbow nodded. Celestia's horn began to glow and a door opened on the far wall behind the throne. "Quickly. Go! This will take you back out of the Gates of Tartarus and put you back in Equestria! Hurry."

We ran through the gate and as soon as it closed behind us we were standing back outside in the Barrens. I looked at the beautiful blue sky and my muscles gave out. I fell unconscious from blood loss and the pain. Last thing I remembered was seeing a few specks of black above Rainbow Dash as she sat over me. They were flying down from the sky.


	8. Time To End This

I sat alone, feeling the throbbing pain all over my body from the beating I had taken. I watched the floor, holding back my sadness, fear and tears. I bit my lip and growled to myself, making it slightly easier to handle everything. I heard my door open and looked up.

"Nick?" The small voice asked.

"Yes, Will?" I asked my little brother.

"Can I stay in here tonight?"

"Sure."

He moved to sit next to me and he began to sob. I put my arm around him and held him close. "I miss Daddy, Nick." He hugged me tightly.

"I miss him too."

"Why did mom marry Wallace?"

"I don't know. I think she just thought we should have someone in replacement of dad."

"But why him! He beats us every day! I can't handle it!"

"You two alright?" Alice's voice said. She was Wallace's daughter and our step-sister. She treated us with respect and actually wanted to take care of us.

"Yeah. We'll be fine."

"Here, let me ice your eye, Will." She moved to my little brother and put a cold pack on his black eye. He winced but the relief soon came.

"Thanks, Alice."

"Of course. Even if my father doesn't care, I do."

"Why does Wallace treat us like this?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, Will. I really really don't. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Alice! Leave these two now! I want you no where near these ungrateful brats." Wallace said from the doorway.

"And why not?" She asked back, venom in her voice.

"Their father was scum and they're not much better. They'll pollute your mind. Get out of the room now!" She resisted.

"Go," I said, nudging her. She frowned at me, but left.

"You two are never allowed to be around Alice! Never! If I ever see you two anywhere near her again I'll break your legs!" He slammed the door and me and Will were left alone again in the quiet of the room. It wasn't long before he began crying violently again. I held him close.

"Why do we have to go through this?" He asked.

"We wouldn't if Jason hadn't left us. He could have helped, but no he had to go off to that fancy boarding school!"

Will cried until he slept and I covered him with a blanket. I walked out of my room and went into my father's study, where I always went when I was lonely and sad. It wasn't helpful this time as Wallace was sitting in my father's old chair. He looked up at me and smiled wickedly.

"Hello, Nick." I bore my teeth. "Oh, don't give me that look!" He stood sharply. "Taks!" I was grabbed from my left side and a fist driven into my back, making me fall onto my knees. He picked me up and threw me against the wall and I turned to face him. What I saw made my heart skip a beat. He was holding a gun and was pointing it at me. "You've given me way too much trouble. You've made my daughter rebellious and that is not forgivable! Finish him off, Taks. He doesn't deserve to live."

"NO!" I heard the gunshot before this word could process, but when I saw her body slam into the ground I realized what had happened. Alice had jumped in front of the bullet before it had gone on to hit me... It had killed her. I looked up to Wallace who was dumbstruck. Taks lowered the gun and dropped it onto the floor.

"What..." Wallace ran over and knelt down to hold his now deceased daughter. I ran from the room as quickly as possible and locked myself in my room, though Taks could easily have broken it down.

The next morning they came to take Taks and Wallace to prison and we were free at that point. We were glad that Wallace was gone and that my mother had decided that she'd divorce him during the time he was under arrest.

"You can't leave, Nick!" Jason said, blocking the door.

"Fuck you! You have no right to tell me that I can't leave! You left us alone with that motherfucker!" I punched him across the face and sent him sprawling on the floor. "Wallace has been in prison for six years and won't be getting out soon. I don't need to be here to protect Will, anymore.. I'm going to go make a life for myself somewhere else. Goodbye."

It was a month later that I got the call from my mom saying that Wallace is out of prison and was living in Miami. I asked her if I had to come back, but she reassured me that they'd be fine. There was a restraining order in place and if he came anywhere near their home the police would handle it.

Three years later I found myself laying on the cold ground in the Everfree Forest. Ever since that day I've been fighting to keep peace and control, not only in Equestria, but in myself.

I began to regain consciousness to a familiar sound, a whirring noise. I focused on it and pulled myself out of my dreams. My eyes fluttered open and I knew where I was. I was in The Doctor's TARDIS. I tried to push my body up, but was pressed back down into the bed by a athletically built girl. I could tell by her skin that she was of Buffalo decent.

"Please, rest." She turned and spoke louder to another part of the TARDIS. "Doctor, he's awake!" I heard footsteps and soon The Doctor stood over me.

"How are you feeling, Nick?" He asked, his voice feeling nostalgic and friendly.

"Like I got hit by a bus... or twelve."

He laughed. "Well, you've been through Hell, haven't you?"

"Where are we?" I asked, not joking anymore.

"The TARDIS, of course."

"I know that! Where are we though?"

"Like I said, the TARDIS."

I sighed. "Maybe this'll help. _When_ are we?"

He smiled widely. "We're nowhere and nowhen. We are traveling through the Time Vortex. We're out of space and time in the realm between time."

"Why? I've gotta get back. There's a pro-"

"I know all about what's happening in Equestria. Just relax. I brought you on board because you need time to heal. Your wounds are horrible and it'd take to long to sleep it off. So me and Red Hoof put you in the TARDIS and we're keeping you out of time until you heal up."

"How long have I been out?"

"Technically... About...Two months."

"Holy christ..."

"Exactly why we needed to keep you out of time. You can take as long as you need here to heal up and get ready and then when you're good to go I'll drop you off where I picked you up. Simple as that. Now rest. You're still healing and you need the rest. Come on, Red Hoof." The two walked out of the room and I was left alone again. I stared at the metal walls before laying my head down on the pillow and drifting back into my dreams.

"I'm glad you two took an interest in swordplay. It can't hurt to learn a trick or two, can it?" our father said as me and Will sat in his study. "I'm sure you two will grow into great swordsman someday." He opened his cabinet and took out two bamboo training swords, handing one to each of us. "Here. Train hard." He smiled at us and shooed us out of the room.

"Wanna train in the garden?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Will said excitedly. We ran out to the large garden and found a big grass patch away from our mother's flowers. We held up our weapons and began training. Of course we were piss-poor at the start and just ended up making each other cry with a whack on the wrist. Luckily we kept at it for a few more years until our father died, then we laid down the training swords for good.

It was a sad day when our father passed on. He had died in his sleep of cardiac arrest. His funeral wasn't too big, only our family was there. Us and Wallace, one of our father's rivals at the time. He consoled our mother and later, when we were alone, berated us for being weak because we were crying. He told us that our father was weak as well and that he raised us as pathetic wastes of space. This was our first encounter with Wallace. A year passed and our mother married him. We lived in Hell for the three years before he was sent to prison.

I sat up again, feeling the warmth of the bed, but the cool surrounding of the TARDIS. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and stood slowly, feeling dizzy. Once I gained my balance I looked down at my hands and noticed something strange. Where my body had been made up of colored cloth before, the stitched now held together what looked and felt like pure white flesh, not Caucasian white, just white. I looked over my entire body and it was my skin now. What had happened? Was it a side effect of being in Hell? Had all the color drained from my body?

The door opened and I heard a gasp as Red Hoof saw me naked. I didn't flinch, wasn't the first time this had happened. She didn't know what to do, she had probably just been coming to check up on me. She made movements to leave, but then redacted them and moved a bit into the room, then changed her mind and back out. I noticed that she held something in her hand and motioned to it.

"What's that?"

She looked down at the items in her hand. "Oh... These are your clothes. The Doctor had me make sure they were clean and mended." She didn't move still.

"May I have them?"

She blushed a bit and moved to put them on the bed and quickly left the room. I smiled as I put my clothes on. I picked up the last article and held it in my hand. I had forgotten about it completely. It was the magic sheath for the Sword of Harmony. It had been on me the entire time I had been in the Underworld. Reminded me of my goals now. I had to find the sword and the Elements and kill Abaddon. I strapped it over my back and walked out of the room. Of course the set up of the TARDIS would have probably gotten me lost if Red Hoof hadn't waited outside my room for me.

"This way, please. The Doctor is waiting for you." We walked through the TARDIS for a minute before we came to the center. Whooves was sitting back watching the controls. He saw us enter and stood.

"Nick! How are you feeling?" Chipper as always.

"Better. Thank you for letting me rest here."

"Of course! Equestria is my home. I want to see it safe as much as anyone else and if anyone can save it, it's you. I wanted to help however possible."

"Well, again thank you, both of you, for taking care of me."

"You're very welcome. Well, are you feeling well enough to go back home?"

"Yeah."

"Alright." He began setting the TARDIS to get us home.

"Doctor?" He looked in my direction. "From what I know about the show Doctor Who on Earth the TARDIS isn't able to teleport between dimensions. How is yours able to?"

He smiled. "My TARDIS is built on magic more than science. It's able to do a lot more things than The Doctor's from the show could do. Come here." He walked over to a grate in the floor and pulled it up, climbed down and pulled up two light purple, glowing gems attached to wires. "These are Dimension Diamonds. They're a special magical item that allows travel between the universes. These two are the only ones known. They look familiar?" I looked at them for a moment. They did, but I couldn't place it. "They're the diamonds from your mother and father's wedding rings." I recognized them.

"How'd you get them?" I asked, not angrily, but confused.

"I got the first from your father in his will. He knew their power and since I had been trapped on Earth for years since they made the bridge between the Equestria and Earth and was sucked into it like a black hole, he decided to make up for it by giving it to me so I could go home. Your mother gave me hers before she died, after you left the house to go after Wallace. I've been working on making copies of them and succeeded a while ago. Once we land I'll disconnect them and give them to you. You can then travel freely between Equestria and Earth."

"I thought you said that when you brought me home that the gate would stay open so Will and Edgar could come visit if they wanted?" I asked remembering the earlier conversation I had with him when he brought me back to Equestria the first time.

"I was mistaken. The gate wouldn't stay open much longer after I dropped you off. It closed and sealed itself off. That's why I've been working on getting the copies of these done." He pulled two identical diamonds out of his jacket pocket, though they were deep blue. "They work just like these and should suffice as replacements."

"I'll take one, but could you do me a favor and take the other one to Will?"

He smiled again. "Of course." The TARDIS started to shake a bit. "We're here."

"So where exactly are we?"

"We're in the Changeling city of Cyantine. They took you in after you stepped out of the gate with Ms. Dash. You know how badly injured you were?"

"As far as I know, yeah."

"Well, after you spared Queen Chrysalis she decided she owed you and that's how you ended up there."

"Speaking of my injuries, what happened to my skin?"

"That's something the Changelings will have to explain." He disconnected the Dimensional Diamonds and handed them to me, connecting the blue ones in their place. "Here you go." He climbed out of the grate and we moved to the door.

"Doctor, one more thing. Do you know about my father's past before he came to Equestria?"

"Yes." That was all he said.

"Can you tell me?"

"Another time." He opened the door. "Go. You've got a world to save. Good luck, Nick. I'll see you in the near future." He smiled again and closed the door and I watched as the blue box faded away. I was standing in a black painted room with a few beds in it. I moved to the door and continued out. I could tell by the set up of the building that I was in a hospital. I was part way down the hallways when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hang on! Are you sure you should be walking around?" A changeling in a white doctor's coat jogged towards me.

"You know who I am?"

"Of course. You're the only patient here, General."

"Well then... That works. And yes, I'm sure I can walk around. See?" I lifted my shirt. "All better. I'm all healed up and stuff." The Changeling looked closer and nodded. "You've healed at an extraordinary rate. That must be the Changeling skin."

"Wait, what?" Confused.

"You're skin. We replaced the cloth with Changeling molt."

"What?" Concerned.

"The skin we shed. We used it to give you your new skin."

"What?" Extremely weirded out.

"Relax. I can understand your concern, but let me tell you why we did it. You see Changeling skin is extremely useful. Alongside our ability to transform we have other abilities as well. Our skin can learn to resist damage and can even be formed to resist certain types of damage. For example, if I were to face a dragon I would make my skin highly resistant to fire. When my skin is fire resistant the fire will do little to no damage at all. Changelings also have the ability to heal quickly and even heal wounds that other creatures cannot heal. A severed arm will grow back. Missing skin will heal. That's probably why your wounds healed so quickly. Your body is a rare type, being able to have Changeling molt attached to it with no problems."

"I guess so. Well those resistances will come in handy later when I fight the demon."

"Then I'm glad we did the operation. Did you happen to know your bones were made of metal?"

"Whaaat?" I said in mock surprise. He smiled, knowing it was a joke. "So where am I supposed to go?"

"I would suggest the Citadel. It's where our Queen lives. I'm sure she'll want an audience with you."

"Alright. I'll find my way, thanks." I began walking away.

"General?"

"Yes?" I turned to him.

"Thank you for sparing our Queen."

"You're welcome. I'm glad I did. I'd be dead if I hadn't."

"We all owe you so much. Don't be surprised when the civilians run up and start bothering you." He smiled at this, but I knew that was going to happen and that worried me a bit. Didn't do well in crowds.

I made my way out of the hospital and found myself entering a busy street. It was very reminiscent of Canterlot, but more populated. I noticed the large looming building on the other side of the city and knew it was the Citadel. A large black castle that watched over Cyantine. I walked down the steps to start my way across the town. I kept my eyes down as I pushed my way through the Changelings, but I'm sure they would have noticed me no matter what, my skin being ghost white against their tar black, hole-covered flesh. They rushed around me, thanking me, patting my back, shouting my name, etc. I moved faster, hoping I could get away. That didn't happen until I got to the Citadel twenty minutes later. The guards opened the door upon noticing who I was and closed it behind me, barring anyone else entry. I breathed a sigh of relief before being approached by another guard.

"General Imbartan. This way please." He lead me through a winding set of halls that would cause anyone to get lost. We came to another set of large doors which were opened by the standing guards and I was ushered inside. Chrysalis sat on her throne, long blue hair flowing down her thin, lanky body, her horn replaced back on her head, fully healed, her green eyes watching me as I entered the throne room and the wicked, sharp smile that ran across her face sent chills down my spine, but somehow warmed me.

"General Imbartan! I'm glad to see you're doing better so soon." She stood from and made her way towards me. "You and me are lucky to be alive, you know. You spared me, so I spared you. Fair trade, don't you think?" Her smile widened.

"Sounds like it to me. So, I was told to come here to meet you. What's up?"

"You spoke of a demon that had attacked Equestria and took it over. We've watched, over the week that you were in Tartarus, as he's taken over many of the surrounding countries of the world. I wanted to help you in any way I can to save this planet from destruction."

"I appreciate it. I actually need to get back to the Everfree Forest in Equestria if you have a way of getting me there.

"I may have a way."

We flew through the air on the back of a Chrysalis, the only Changeling strong enough to take on the form of a large dragon. I didn't quite understand how they were able to do these things, but I lived in a world full of magic and didn't question it. The rest of Chrysalis' army flew around us in the form of Pegasi or Griffons and even smaller dragons. Our path lead us over the barrens and down south over the Griffon Kingdoms. We were lucky enough to not be assaulted by the Griffon's air patrol as we flew through their air space. Maybe it was the large dragon that set them off or maybe Abaddon had already wiped them out. Once we reached Equestrian borders we continued on, avoiding Canterlot out of fear of Abaddon spotting us. The Everfree was in sight soon enough.

"There!" I yelled over the sound of air whizzing past me, pointing to the small camp below, bustling with Ponies. We began our descent and I watched as the last remaining Ponies scrambled to arms, but once they saw me on the back of the dragon they lowered their weapons.

"Nick!" Skyblade said, running over to me. "How did you enlist the help of such a strange assortment of creatures? Was there another camp or something?"

"No." I turned to face the Changelings and they began their transformation back to normal. "Just a untouched city in the Barrens." I heard the Remnants, as I chose to call them, draw and ready their weapons behind me. "Put your weapons down!"

"Sir, they're Changelings. They're evil!" One of the soldiers said to me.

I grabbed the scruff of his shirt. "So am I! But you still listen to my orders! Lower your weapons! NOW!" They did so. "Now, this is Queen Chrysalis, as you're all well aware. I spared her life and she saved mine. Now to save the entire world We're all in this together, so get to know one another. Become comrades and get over the past wars and battles that had raged between your kinds. Because once this is all over, once Abaddon is dead, we're all in this together to rebuild the world." They murmured for a second, but then they began agreeing and cheering. I made my way to Fluttershy's tent.

Upon entry I was embraced and embraced the love of my life back. We held one another for a moment and I heard he begin to sob. I stroked her hair repeating over and over that it was okay. I moved to face her and looked into her beautiful blue eyes.

"Are you alright, Flutters?" I asked.

"I was worried you weren't coming back."

"It's only been a week or so, right?" She nodded. "Why worry so much?"

"Because..." She looked at the ground and spoke even more softly. "I love you."

I held her close again. "I love you too, Fluttershy. That's why you should never worry. I'm not going to die anytime soon as long as I have you to come back to." Her embrace became tighter and she stopped sobbing as we just held one another. It was another five or so minutes of silence before I spoke. "But we do have some urgent things to take care of at the moment. We need to get everyone together so that I can explain what we're going to do."

We gathered everyone outside, Changelings and Ponies alike. I stood in the center of the group that surrounded me and spun around once to look them all over. Such an interesting group that had survived the ravages of the war.

"Friends! During my time in Tartarus I have gained insight on how to defeat Abaddon, the demon that has taken our world. Celestia herself was the one to tell me how to bring the monster down from his throne. Sadly, I could not bring her home, but I have brought a warrior home who has agreed to help us in our mission. You may have noticed her come here alongside me and the Changelings. Rainbow Dash, please step over here." She walked into the center of the crowd and I heard the murmurs grow. "Rainbow did horrible, unspeakable things in her time of living, but she helped me greatly while I was in Tartarus. She has repented for her sins. She is worthy of my forgiveness. Can you forgive her as well?" The Ponies murmured and the Changelings stayed out of this one, it not being something they knew about.

Skyblade stepped forward and spoke. "Rainbow Dash killed my little sister. She killed many other young Ponies and caused terror in their hearts before they died. I vowed I would never forgive her until she was dead at my hands. Nick allowed that for me and she did die and as he said, repented for her sins. I forgive Rainbow for her past deeds." He stood at my side, opposite Rainbow. She had tears in her eyes when I looked to her. Tears of happiness that she could be forgiven. The crowed of Ponies roared up in agreement and we moved on.

"Now, there are a couple of thigns we need to do before we can fight against the demon. We must first locate the Elements of Harmony. They're in Canterlot Tower right?"

"Yes, but with the monsters roaming around there how are we going to get to them?"

"Second mission will come first, it seems. I need my sword, the one that Fluttershy cast away from me at the Battle of Canterlot. Then, and only once I have that, will I be willing to lead a group of soldiers inside that hellhole to get them."

"But where is it?" Twilight asked.

"It should be somewhere in the Everfree Forest," Fluttershy chimed in. "I only used enough energy and aimed it this way. It can't be too far away."

"Alright. Let's get some search parties going. It's a big sword. About seven feet long from the tip of the blade to the bottom of the hilt. Silver hand guard, black tape wrapping around the handle and a green and red design at the bottom of the blade. Everyone got it?" They all stated they did. "Alright. Get your teams and let's get searching! And be careful out there."

The crowd broke up and started to make their groups. I got into mine. Me, Skyblade, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy knew the area better than any one of us and we chose to follow her. It was nearly an hour of walking before I thought of something.

"Michael?" I said in my head.

"Yes, Master?"

"Lilith?"

"Master?"

"Which one of you would like to go be with Skyblade?"

There was a long silence. "I would gladly, if it is what you wish, Master," Michael said.

"Alright."

"Skyblade?" I said out loud.

"Yeah?"

"Here." I reached down and took Michael off of my finger and handed it to him. "It's a magical ring. It creates a weapon based off the souls you save or help with your actions. His name is Michael." Skyblade took the ring and slid it on his right middle finger. He looked surprised and I knew that Michael was speaking to him. After a moment he eased up a bit and held up his hand, a very large ordained sword appeared in his hand, much more vibrant than my own. Skyblade smiled.

"Thank you, Nick," He said, testing the weapon out. I nodded to him.

"Lilith?" I thought again.

"Yes, Master?"

"I'd like to give you to Rainbow, if that'd be okay with you?"

"I will gladly do as you please, Master."

"Rainbow Dash?" I spoke. She turned, but didn't say anything to me. "I'd like to give you this ring. Her name is Lilith, she-"

"No. I don't want it. I know about the rings. That one becomes more powerful with the more souls you kill and hurt. I don't want that reminder on my conscience. Please, just keep it."

"Alright. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I just wanted to let you know how I felt about it."We continued in silence for a few more miles before we came to an old, decrepit rope bridge.

"I don't know how I feel about this thing... You know, being heavier than normal and all..." I spoke out.

"Me and Skyblade could carry you," Rainbow asserted.

"If you can lift me."

"I'm sure we can," Skyblade said confidently. He grabbed one of my arms and unfurled his wings and Rainbow did the same for my other arm. They flapped their wings and soon I was in the air. They were the best fliers in all of Equestria, after all. They had no problems carrying me across the gap and Fluttershy flew close behind us. Once we were on the opposite side, that's when I saw it. It was the old run down castle structure that the Ponies had visited in the season one opening. Where they had found the Elements of Harmony. As we walked inside of the roofless foyer-like part of the building I saw the pedestal that the Elements had once sat upon. There was something there that made my heart jump with joy and I ran towards it. The Sword of Harmony was planted in the center of the stone structure. I jumped up up onto the pedestal, grabbed the sword by the hilt and yanked it out of the stone. It felt wonderful to hold it again.

"So, we found the sword. Now what?" Fluttershy asked.

"Get everyone back to the camp. We've got some more planning to do before we go on and attack Canterlot."

"Alright," Skyblade said before running outside and flying high into the air. We heard the horn loud and clear signaling for everyone to get back to the camp. We began our journey back as well. As we came back to where the camp laid we were greeted with smoke and fire. The Remnants were fighting against the zombies that had invaded and burnt down our camp.

"Fuck! Retreat! Retreat! Follow me! Retreat!" The group followed me back to Luna's castle and we broke the rope bridge, barring many of the zombies from coming across, but they did have Pegasi as well. Twilight and Shining armor created a barrier around the castle, allowing us to be safe for a moment to formulate a plan.

"What do we do?" One of the soldiers asked.

"I'd say we run," I answered.

"That's it?"

"That's all we can do. These things can't die."

"Except by us, Master." Lilith spoke to me.

"What?" I thought back.

"Michael and myself are able to kill anything. We can kill them."

"Skyblade!" I called.

"Sir!" He answered.

"You and me are staying behind. The rest of you will go, stay within the barrier that Shining Armor and Twilight provide. Get to the Whitetail Wood. We'll be there as soon as possible. Understood?" They all gave a grunt of acceptance and I turned back to Skyblade. "Lilith and Michael can kill these things. Do not leave them injured! Kill them! If we stop Abaddon I'm sure they'll turn back to normal and if we injure them then they'll just be injured Ponies left behind, got that?"

"Yes, sir!" He summoned his sword and I my axe. I turned to the rest of the Remnants.

"Get moving!" They ran out the front gate, taking the barrier with them. We were now outside of protection. "Keep the zombies off of the barrier!" I swung a few Flayed Souls attacks at them, knocking them out of the sky and killing them. Skyblade shouted out his attacks as well, hitting the remaining Pegasi zombies with Heaven's Gate. Once the Pegasi were down he grabbed me and quickly flew me over the ravine. He struggled for a moment and dropped me. I grabbed onto the edge of the cliff and was quickly pulled up by Rainbow Dash. "Thank you Rainbow."

She smiled at me. "I never leave my friends hanging."

"Go! Catch up with the group. Make sure they're alright." She nodded and flew off. The zombies were laying on the ground, having been knocked over by the moving barrier. Skyblade landed next to me, sword at hand.

"Sorry for dropping you."

"Eh. The fall wouldn't have killed me."

"How do you know?"

"I've hit the ground going twice terminal velocity. I'm pretty sure if I lived through that, I'm able to get through anything." I chuckled. "Come on, let's catch up with the group. No reason to kill what we can outrun." We both bolted, chasing after our friends. We ran for miles, keeping away from the cities. We finally made it to Whitetail Wood and rested. Twilight and Shining armor cast another barrier spell around the small part of the wood we would be staying in for a minute.

"Alright. We're closer to Canterlot than we were before. That's good. These are the last fights that will end this war. We can win this, we just need to keep strong. Now, I want the major part of you to stay here. Protect each other and keep this outpost safe. Understood?" They agreed, reluctantly. "I will take a few soldiers with me to fight our way into Canterlot. This group will consist of Skyblade, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Myself. The rest will, as I said, protect this outpost and keep it safe."

Hours passed as the group steeled themselves. This was seriously a dangerous mission and the reason I was bringing these six specifically was because they were the ones I trusted the most. They packed up their gear. Applejack was simply wearing her specialized Bucking armor, made to enhance the fighting skills of someone who knows the Apple family fighting style. Apple Bloom brought her fast reloading arm crossbow and the bolt clips that reloaded into it. Skyblade was ready to go with Michael at the ready. Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy were all ready.

"I'll take you there," Chrysalis said. "I can carry you all on my dragon form. I can even clear the area a bit before landing so you're not overwhelmed first thing."

"Thank you, Chrysalis. I appreciate the help." I turned to the team. "Alright, guys. If you're ready, then we should be off. This is the day we take back Equestria. The world. Our homes. Our friends. Let's go!"

Chrysalis transformed and we climbed onto her back. Her large, reptilian wings flapped, pushing huge wafts of air down to the ground. We were soon skyward. We flew over the forest and saw the army gathering around the barrier, pounding on it. I hoped it could hold until this was all over. We flew over Equestria and I saw the devastation that had been laid out on the towns like Ponyville. The buildings were destroyed and rebuilt into statues of Abaddon. He was a vain bastard, that was for sure.

Once Canterlot was in view I saw what had come of it from the outside. There was a spire that loomed over the massive coliseum, where I had fought a little over a week ago. It was horrifying to see how the different pieces of the once proud buildings now fit into such horrifying structure.

"Where do you think the Canterlot Tower is?" I asked to no one in particular.

"I'm sure he made that tower from it."

"Then that's where we go. Land outside the city, Chrysalis." She roared and descended. The ground had hundreds of zombies running around. They'd seen us and were getting ready to fight. Chrysalis breathed in deeply and released a large blaze onto the creatures below. Even if they were mindless servants who couldn't die, that would distract them long enough for us to land and ready ourselves.

"Stay near me and Skyblade! We're the only ones who can finish them off. Keep them off of us as best as possible!" I turned towards Chrysalis and petted her snout. "Thank you for helping us. Head back to the outpost and keep them safe as well." She nodded and flew off. We turned and charged into the city. It was tough to navigate through the torn down buildings as the streets no longer existed anymore. The coliseum loomed above us not too far away. It was at least ten miles high to the top of the thing and the spire was even taller. We made our way through the rubble, keeping ahead of the zombies that had been scorched earlier. We came to the coliseum walls and, instead of going inside and getting trapped, we decided to go around it.

It was huge. Ten miles high and at least fifteen miles in from side to side. It was going to take forever to get around it. As we continued to run around the large construct we were stopped. It was Trixie. She stood proudly, her cape and hat neatly in place, but she was clearly a zombie.

"Halt! Who dares stand before the great and powerful Trixie?"

"I'll handle her," Twilight said, stepping around us.

"Twilight, you can't kill her!" I said.

"I know, but I can hold her off so you guys can get away. Go!" Her horn started to glow as we ran past her. I watched as she fought against Trixie, holding her own like a true master of magic would. Trixie's spells seemed stronger as well, though. I hoped she'd be okay.

"Nick! Come on!" Applejack said, grabbing my arm and tugging me to run. We continued on, hearing the sounds of the magic battle behind us. It was a few more minutes before we were stopped yet again. This time, though, my heart sank. Standing before us was Granny Smith, now not hunched over and holding a bow and arrow, and the once dead Big Macintosh, stitched together like I was.

"Granny Smith?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Big Mac? How are you alive?" Applejack asked.

"We brought put him back together and the master brought him back to life. Isn't it wonderful?" Granny Smith answered.

"Applejack, Apple Bloom, that's not your family. Those are zomb-"

"We know!" Applejack snapped at me, tears in her eyes. She stood ready to fight.

"Go, Nick. This is our fight," Apple Bloom let me know as she loaded her crossbow.

"Good luck, you two." I said.

"Thanks. You too." Me, Skyblade and Fluttershy ran around the fray as Applejack and Big Mac fought, kicking at one another and Applebloom shot arrow after arrow at Granny Smith and dodging the ones fired at her. We moved on, halfway around the coliseum now.

"Abaddon knew we were coming," I said, speaking my mind.

"Well, the large dragon flying towards his castle would probably set him off."

"We have to be more careful. Let's go!" We continued to round the building and we saw the next opponent. The Pony that stood before us sent a shiver down my spine. Big Mac was a surprise, but he could have been saved, just like me. But this one. She was supposed to have been dead for years. Standing before us was Scootaloo, dressed in the black uniform of the Mare Do Well. She wasn't a zombie. Skyblade stopped dead in his tracks.

"Is... is that my sister?" He asked, scared.

"Yellow Star!" She said before I could answer. She began walking towards us. "I've missed you so much!"

Skyblade walked towards her as well. "Scoots! I've missed you too!" As they were within range Scootaloo pulled a knife from her suit and was ready to stab her brother, but he had anticipated it and summoned Michael. He cut off her hand and she fell to the ground screaming in agony. "How are you alive?" He screamed, grabbing her shirt collar and heaving her off the ground.

"Rainbow Dash let me live! She didn't want to watch me die! She said I was like family to her and she let me live! I've been hiding for years! I'm sorry... The master said he could let me live my own if I just followed him... I'm sorry, Star." She was crying now.

"Scootaloo... That's not right. You could have come home at any time."

"No. No, I couldn't. I brought shame on our family for not passing my test. I couldn't come home. I couldn't..."

"Yes you could have." Skyblade knelt down and hugged his sister, stroking her hair. "And you're going to." He looked at us. "Go. I'm going to take care of my sister."

We passed them, tears were in my eyes and Pinkie and Fluttershy were silent as we went on. We continued on until we came to yet another Pony standing in our way. Only difference was that this Pony was clearly not of actual Equestrian descent. It was Pinkamena, Pinkie's darker side. The suit she wore was covered in blood, hair long and straight and she held a knife in her hand. A wicked smile crossed her features as she saw us.

"Good, I've been in need of some new ingredients."

Pinkie stopped in front of us and held up her hand. "She's a Changeling, you think?"

"Yes, most likely. She probably took your form at some point and then was turned by Abaddon."

"Then she's mine to deal with."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

She turned and smiled. "Yup! I've been wanting to use my new magic fighting skills for a while." I watched as Pinkie turned back to the Pinkamena Changeling. "What's your name?"

"Pinkamena Diane Pie."

"Mine is Pinkie Pie! I'm going to kill you today!" Pinkie was all smiles and that scared me more than the Changeling form of her did. Suddenly Pinkie was gone and Pinkamena was as confused as I was. A door opened in the world behind Pinkamena and Pinkie jumped out from it, hitting her counterpart and causing her to sprawl out on the ground.

"What the hell?" I said, but I smiled soon after as Pinkie disappeared again. "She learned how to break the fourth wall. Ha!" Pinkie appeared again, this time leaping off of the top of the coliseum, reading to drive her elbow into the copy's body. Pinkamena rolled out of the way and Pinkie hit the ground hard.

"Pinkie!" Fluttershy gasped. I put a hand on her shoulder and we watched as Pinkie peeled herself off of the ground like a cartoon character.

"She's a special kind of Pony," I told Flutters with a smile. "Come on. We're almost there. Pinkie can handle herself." As we ran by her and Pinkamena I yelled behind me. "Good luck, Pinkie!"

"You too!" She yelled back and we continued on our way. We came to the base of the spire, a small doorway leading inside.

"Nick, what if the Elements aren't in there?"

"Then we run. Without them there is almost no chance of killing Abaddon. He's gained too much power. I doubt even Lilith could kill him."

"Then, if it might be our last chance..." She kissed me passionately. I held her close, kissing her back for a few seconds before we parted. "I love you, Nick."

"I love you too, Fluttershy." I pulled away from her and turned and opened the door. We stepped inside and found ourselves in a large foyer. There was nothing in it save for a staircase. "Come on." We ascended the stairs, meeting no resistance.

"What do you think this spire is for?"

"The bastard probably lives at the top of it to be above everyone else."

"You think he would keep the Elements in here?"

"The room to them is magically sealed, so I doubt he could have opened it to find them."

"Let's hope." The stairs went on for what felt like forever, circling the tower wall. We were starting to get tired as we came to a landing. There was a door there. The door to the Element chamber.

"It's still here!" I said, excitedly.

"How do we open it though?"

"Fuck..." It had taken Celestia or Luna to open it before. I had no such power to open this thing. "I have no idea."

"I can help," Said from behind us. We turned to see an open room that we had somehow missed. Luna was tied up to the wall there. I ran over.

"Luna! Are you alright?"

"Yes. Discord locked me into the tower when he found out about that Demon's plans. He built this tower around the Canterlot Tower and left me here as a playtoy. He doesn't know what that room is and he doesn't know I can open it. Let me help, Nick. Break me out of these cuffs."

"Alright. Hold still." I raised the sword and swung it down, breaking the cuffs one by one until all four of her limbs were freed.

"Thank you, Ni-" She began choking and I heard a laughter coming from the stairwell. I turned to see Abaddon standing there.

"It's been a little while, General. Have you decided to join me?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Too bad. I wonder if you can stand up to the full power of Nightmare Moon in zombie form." He snapped his fingers and the door slammed closed and the torches lit up the small room we were in. I looked at Luna as she continued to choke. Her hair became the purple smoke that had made up Nightmare Moon's and the helmet soon appeared. She was no longer Luna. Now she was a zombie with all the power that Nightmare Moon held.

"Get back, Fluttershy!" I summoned my axe and held my sword in the other hand.

"Puny mortal! You cannot stand against the power of Nightmare Moon!" The purple smoke around her lashed out at me, hitting me hard across the chest. I felt the pain as it tore through my skin and muscles. She continued to lash out at me, hitting me over and over.

"Unbreakable Tomb!" I yelled and felt the invisible box surround me. She continued to hit it, but did no damage. Once it broke I swung the axe. "Torturer's Punishment!" I yelled, the black smoke flew the short distance between us and exploded into flames around Nightmare Moon. She howled in pain, but recovered. She was now holding a long polearm made of the purple smoke. She moved quickly, stabbing at me. I dodged out of the way as best I could, but I couldn't move too far in this room. I remembered what the Changeling had said about their skin, though. Worth a shot. "Sharpness resistance!" I let her attack hit me this time and the blade didn't penetrate into my skin. It hurt, but it didn't pierce my skin. That was good to know.

"How are you not dead?" She shouted, angered. She stabbed a few more times, but still it didn't pierce through. She raised the weapon, ready to slash at me. I blocked it with the Sword of Harmony and brought the axe to her throat.

"I'm so, so sorry, Luna." I wound back and cut her head clean off. Her body fell limp to the floor and I felt sick for killing one of my friends. I turned and used Flayed Souls on the door, breaking it down. Reluctantly I picked up Luna's head and placed her horn into the lock on the Element chamber door. It glowed blue and opened. I set Luna's head down and walked inside. There they were, the Elements of Harmony. They were in a four sided diamond form. Perfect to fit into the Sword of Harmony. I picked them up one by one and placed them into the cross guard. As I placed the final Element into the indents the sword and Elements glowed brightly before fading, though I could still feel its power.

"Amazing. That's the Sword of Harmony?"

"Yes. The most powerful weapon known to Equestria and the world around it." I turned to look at Fluttershy and my heart dropped when I saw Abaddon standing behind her. He smiled wickedly at me before grabbing her and disappearing. The last thing I was left with was her muffled scream echoing in the room. Then his voice rang out from nowhere.

"Meet me in the coliseum. It's time you die."

"Do not touch a fucking hair on her head, Abaddon!" I growled.

"Then you better hurry. If she keeps screaming I'm going to slit her throat."

I ran up the stairs, sure I was closer to the top than the bottom. Once there I found a window looking down on the coliseum. I could see him standing in the center. Fluttershy was tied up at his feet. I jumped from the spire. It was a good forty second fall to the coliseum floor. Before I landed I made my body resistant to blunt damage and it saved me a lot of pain when I landed, legs first, on the ground.

"Impressive!" the Demon said, clapping slowly. "Never thought I'd see someone do that and live."

"Let her go!" I pointed the Sword of Harmony at him.

He smiled widely. "Oh, I don't think so." He lifted his hand and Fluttershy went flying, hitting the wall and sticking to it. She was still conscious and alive, thankfully. "Now, let's get this on the road." He held up his hands and two excessively long, very sharp katanas appeared in them. He moved them with great precision and skill. "Come one, boy. Let's see if you can actually wield that weapon."

He charged at me, crossing his blades over his chest and swinging each diagonally. I leapt backwards, but their length allowed for them to hit me anyway. I resisted piercing damage and expected it to work. His blades cut deep into my flesh and I was thrown backward, sliding across the ground. When I finally came to a stop I quickly stood. His foot connected into the side of my head and I was airborne again. This time I was stopped by him punching me into the ground. I was lifted by my shirt and hurled into the wall of the arena and he began slashing his swords across my body and face in quick succession until I was just ribbons. He let me fall to the ground while he laughed.

"You're weak! You have no actual power! You were simply lucky in all those battles you won! Getting through Hell was just a fluke! You're seriously nothing!" I heard him turn and begin walking away, but I felt the Changeling flesh on my body begin healing. It put itself completely back together as I stood.

"I'm not done with you, freak!" I said. He stopped and I heard him softly growl. His smile was gone when he turned to face me. "It's my turn to see how strong you are." I ran at him and he prepared his blades to block, but as I brought Harmony, as I've come to call it, don't upon him I summoned my axe and swung it at his midsection, connecting and cutting him pretty bad. He leapt away, but I jumped at him and kicked him with both feet into his chest. He rolled on the ground and I chased after him. I jumped into the air, angling the sword down on his torso as he began to slow. I stabbed the sword into his chest and he screamed in agony, twitching violently. Once he stopped moving I pulled the sword from him and stepped away, watching to see if his body started to dissipate. It didn't, but he wasn't moving. Maybe that only happened in Hell? As I began to turn away from him I heard him start to laugh again.

"Maybe you're worth more than I gave you credit for. You're much stronger than I thought, that's for sure." I turned to see him floating just a bit off the ground. In his hands the swords had turned into what looked like laser whips. His smile was wider than any human could allow. "But you are no match for me! I am a god!" He landed and began swinging the lasers at me. I dove out of the way of the weapons, blocking them when I had no other choice. Luckily I could still block them. I tried to advance on him, but He continually attacked me so that I couldn't move.

"Master?" Lilith said.

"Little busy, Lilith!"

"Master, I have information to help you."

"What is it?"

"Use the Elements."

"What? I am!"

"No, you're not. Use the Elements. Say their names. Call upon their powers. Now!"

I thought for a second and just chose an Element. "Loyalty!" The red element on the sword began glowing and Loyalty showed itself. It was a chain sword, like Ivy from Soul Caliber. I also found that I controlled its extending properties by thinking about it. As I swung it around a bit, winding it back into the sword shape I smiled at the thought of the different powers this sword could possess. I returned my focus back to Abaddon and swung the sword, extending it out fully, the sword breaking up into mini blades on a metal rope. He didn't have enough time to block it or dodge it and it hit him on the shoulder. He flew back and a bit more into the air to try to get away. He held his hand over the wound and he healed it back to normal before scowling at me.

"So you've got more tricks up your sleeve. I'm getting tired of this. Try this on for size." He raised his hands to the sky and they began to glow and I saw something coming down from the sky above him. He was summoning meteors. Time to try another Element.

"Magic!" The red gem stopped glowing and the dark purple one began to. The sword dissolved and became a sword shaped mass of magical energy in my hand. I swung it, testing it, and a beam of light flew from it and blew a hole in the arena wall to my side. I have to be careful of that. I began swinging the sword, shattering the meteors that were coming down upon me. Once they were all broken Abaddon gave up and growled loudly at me.

"You're getting on my nerves, child!" He flew down and landed. He summoned his swords again, but this time they were on fire and even longer than before.

"Generosity!" The sword changed back to normal, but the violet colored gem was glowing now. I blocked his attacks and kicked him back. Upon him being kicked back he stumbled a bit, but then it looked as if he got kicked again and then again. He was very confused as I was, but I took advantage of his confusion and moved quickly to close the space between us. The swing connected to his right shoulder and cut deep, but then the cut spat out more blood as it became deeper and it grew wider again. I now realized what Generosity's power was. It hit the target three consecutive times with the same attack. He was highly confused, but I didn't let up and began slashing wildly. Soon his body was covered in enormous gashes, his bones were cut and I'm sure if it wasn't for his demonic nature, he would have been dead.

"You... are... going to... suffer..." He gasped out, coughing out a bit of blood on the last word as he spat. His body began to glow red as he floated into the air again. The world began to change. The sun set quickly and I actually wondered if it had been floating there for the past nearly two weeks since Luna was captured. But as it set the sky turned red and I noticed the moon was the only light source right now. The world was crimson and began to rust over, like the first time I had seen Abaddon. His body became inhuman and grotesque. He grew four large black horns from his head and his skin became like a dragon's scales, but horribly uneven. He growled loudly as the transformation ceased and he looked down on me. "You will suffer for all your life as part of me!"

"Sorry, I'm already in a committed relationship."

"You still joke in the face of your death? You're not brave, just stupid." He landed on the ground and I now saw how large he had become. He was now at least ten feet tall and much more muscular than before. This was a physical fighting form. He held his hands up in a kickboxing stance and they caught fire.

"No, I just know when I'm going to win. Honesty!" The orange gem began glowing and the sword became two large bladed brass knuckles. "Huh, good call, Nick." I told myself and got ready. "Come on, big boy."

His footsteps thudded hard on the ground as he ran towards me. I swung my punch at him as he swung at me. As our fists clashed we were both sent flying backwards at the transfer of energy. I jumped up and charged him again as he got up. I made it to him before he could regain himself though and connected a quick jab to the side of his head. It made him launch back a good twenty feet or so. I looked down at Honesty and smiled.  
>"I like you." I closed our distance again and was ready to punch him when his fist hit my stomach and I was sent skyward, my chest on fire. I resisted fire and it was put out as I came back down towards the ground. When I was head level with him he hit me at and angle that caused me to sail into the stands. I stood again and cracked my neck. "Alright, that hurt. I'll give you that." I leapt down and stood across the coliseum from him. "Let's try something else. Kindness!" The knuckles became a light rapier with a glowing green gem in the pommel. I swung it experimentally and liked the feel of it. "En Garde, bitch."<p>

He came at me again, shouting a war cry that shook the stadium as he approached. Once he was within range I began jabbing and slashing and dodging around his punches and advances. A thought struck me and I attempted to outrun him. He was right behind me as I approached the wall and once I changed courses, he didn't have enough time to change his momentum and slammed hard into it. I actually chuckled as he fell to the ground, stunned. But he recovered much faster than I had expected and he caught me off guard. He grabbed me by my head and slammed me hard into the ground and then the wall before throwing me into the air, jumping after me and dragging me down with him on top of me. I felt my bones bend under the pressure, but when he started slamming his fists against my prone self I heard and felt them start to break apart. I was a bloodied, broken mess on the ground when he stepped off of me. I was still holding Kindness and thought it was worth a try. "La-Laughter..." The sword disappeared and I was left with absolutely nothing. I felt a warmness rising in my stomach though and soon I was laughing hysterically. I felt my body gaining strength again as it healed up. I stood as my bones realigned. I continued laughing, unable to move more than a few steps. Once I felt as if my body was in perfect condition to continue the fight I spoke again. "Haha! Lo-heh-alty!" The sword reappeared in my hand and untethered again before I thought it back in one piece.

"How the hell are you standing?" He growled.

"Laughter is the best medicine," I replied with a smug smile. "Come on. I'm ready to end this." I let the sword unwind again and was ready to fight. He approached again, but this time I didn't let him anywhere near me. I swung the chain sword and it wrapped around his arm as he blocked it. I wound it up, pulling his arm with it. After a second it tore his arm off he howled angrily and continued to run at me. I looped the sword over my head and brought it down on his other side, which he blocked as well. He was almost on me now. I jumped and used the sword to gain some speed towards him before unwinding it again, allowing me to sail over him. As I landed I pulled the sword roughly, disconnecting his arm from him. "Generosity!" I ran forward and swept his legs, hitting both of them. I watched as they were obliterated by the repeated attacks and he began to fall. "Honesty!" I jumped in front of him and laid down blow after blow onto his body and head, breaking through his scales and shattering his bones. I summoned Lilith for the final blow and cut Abaddon's body in half. As his halves fell to the floor I watched it, not sure if he was truly dead. After a few moments I conceded that he was in fact dead. "Revert." Harmony changed back to normal and I placed it on my back and my axe disappeared. Fluttershy looked worried however when I got close to her and I turned to see Abaddon's two halves forming again. This time there were two of the monster he had become.

"What the fucking hell?" I drew Harmony again. I didn't have time to change it into any of the other forms as the monsters started to change shape again. They grew even larger, three times as big as they were before. Their arms were now long metal blades and, judging from the smoke bellowing from their nostrils, I assumed they breathed fire.

"Master?"

"Yes, Lilith?"

"You have one more form."

"I do?"

"You are the final Element, remember? Determination."

I smiled, hoping that this was a powerful form. I held the sword high and yelled. "Determination!" All six Elements on the sword began shimmering and the world came to a halt around me, or at least I thought. Everything was still moving, but much slower. I had slowed down time? I ran forward and began slashing at the monster. The blade of Determination cut through their flesh like butter and It was only a few seconds before it began to disappear, letting me know it was dead. I changed my attention to the second one, but before I could get to it the world sped up again and I felt extremely worn out and tired. I fell to my knees, unable to continue moving. Abaddon looked down at me and laughed.

"Tire yourself out, human?" His voice was demonic and booming in his large form. "Well, you can sleep for all eternity, if you'd like! How about I tell you a bedtime story? Would you like that?" He waited for my answer, but I couldn't speak. "How about the story of how I came to be?" His voice changed and I realized it was now in my head. It was his human form's voice, speaking only to me.

"There was a young boy. A young Clark Andrews. He was a playful child, loved going outside and playing with his mother and father and his big sister, Natalie. One day, however, the family was driving down the freeway to go visit Clark's grandparents. There was a drunk driver on the road. He drove onto the oncoming traffic lane that Clark's family was driving on and caused them to swerve. Clark was the only survivor.

"He laid alone in his hospital bed, in a coma. Only this was different than how most people thought comas were. He could still taste, feel, hear, smell and see, when they opened his eyes. He laid on the cold bed, feeling the prodding needles. Smelling the sterile room and hearing the doctors and nurses talk about how much he wouldn't live and that without money, which his grandparents were lacking, they couldn't keep him sustained. He had enough time to make a few fantasies.

"First he fantasized about what it would have been like to be a hero. To one day wake up from his coma and save people from the fate he had to endure. He also thought of himself as many other things, like an astronaut, a doctor, and artist. He drew paintings in his head. He was creative and loved to draw. But those thoughts faded away as he forgot how to see. They no longer tested his eyes, so he just forgot what the world looked like.

"That's when the hate began to boil up. He hated the man who had caused this pain on him. The man who had killed his family. He hated the doctors and nurses for subjecting him to the needles and other tests. He grew bitter and enraged. He dreamed of becoming something powerful. Something that would never lose and would destroy everything in its path. He dreamed of becoming a powerful sorcerer. The most powerful in all the worlds. He dreamed up me. You know what demons are, right? Well, I was his anger, his hatred, his unreached dreams. I'm everything he wanted to become, but couldn't. I'm going to destroy this world and take its power, then I'm going to move on and destroy the other dimensions. I'll take over the Underworld and use their portals to destroy every single world out there! The universes will be mine and no one is going to stand in my way! Especially not some ragdoll human with no sense of understanding when he's lost!"

"Now, sit back," It was his demon voice again. "You're going to watch me devour your most beloved." He stomped his way towards Fluttershy.

"No!" I tried to push myself up, but just couldn't find the strength. "No! Stay away from her!"

He took her in his large hand and put her in his mouth.

"NO! STOP!" I screamed.

He chomped down on her. I watched as her body was obliterated. Her final screams being drowned out by her own blood and his saliva.

"No... Please... No..." I laid on the dirt, unable to comprehend anything. I felt the tears begin to stream down my cheeks. "No... no... no... no... no..." Was all I could say. I closed my eyes and began screaming. "No! No! No! NO! NO! NO! NO!" I pushed myself up onto my knees and continued to scream that one word. I stood and continued screaming. Suddenly I was no longer the one screaming. It was my voice, but it wasn't me. My eyes opened, but I didn't open them. I wasn't in control of my body anymore. The blackness that had taken over my left eye now was replaced with a red interface, like a computer. My body continued to scream, but it was becoming more animalistic in its sound. My body turned to see my left arm split and rip, muscles and tissue breaking away in agonizing pain as my arm became a long robotic limb, like Moon's had been. The same happened to my right arm. They were each six feet long and ended in sharp claw-like fingers. I felt pain rising up in my back and my body growled in pain as what I found to be mechanical wings sprouted from me. My teeth were now sharpened and much longer than human teeth. I felt this other version of me's thoughts. It simply wanted to kill. It wanted to kill everything that moved. It was a monster. It was everything I never wanted to become.

It was my Demon.

"GRAAAAAH!" It screamed, finishing its transformation. Abaddon looked scared now. He was confused by what had just happened. My Demon looked down at Harmony in his hand, all the Elements were black. I felt him smile and he placed it on his back. He had a plan for Abaddon.

My Demon used its wings to propel itself forward quickly and slashed at Abaddon's torso and head. He was scratched up pretty badly, but the Demon wasn't done yet. It looped back and grabbed the larger monster's throat and began choking him. While choking him it stabbed its claws into Abaddon's stomach. When the wounds were big enough he reached in and tore out the monster's organs and threw them on the ground.

"Wh-What the fuck are y-you?" Abaddon asked, choking on his blood.

"I am Rage," was its answer. I threw Abaddon into the air and drew Harmony from its back. It called out: "Betrayal!" The sword turned into a long chain with a spiked flail at the very end. He swung it up and it looped around Abaddon's neck. Rage twisted its body and brought the bigger monster down hard onto the ground, then flew into the air, dragging him with it and slammed Abaddon into the compact dirt of the arena again.

"Cruelty!" The flail transformed into an extremely long rapier. It wasn't just pointed at the end, however. The blade wasn't a metal cylinder, but was instead four tiny blades in an X that lead up the length into a point. The Demon landed and dragged Abaddon to his feet and began slashing furiously over his body. Halfway through one of his barrages he shouted out another name.

"Greed!" The sword grew back into Harmony's shape and he continued flailing. Once Abaddon was covered in hits his body twitched and then sparked up as an electrical current surged through him. The blue lightning coursed through him for a few seconds before it let up.

"Lies!" The sword became oversized punching daggers that extended from Rage's already immense reach about five more feet. It began punching rapidly into Abaddon's torso and head, tearing his flesh dramatically. The last punch landed square into the monster's face and sent him flying.

"Sadness!" The Demon's body became still and the weapon disappeared. I felt the sadness wash over his body, but there was nothing shown outside. Abaddon screamed as both bodies were drained of their vital energies. The opponent had much less to give than Rage did however.

"Magic!" The sword appeared again, but was in its incorporeal form, only the energy was red this time. While Abaddon attempted to stand Rage took the chance to hurl beam after beam into the enemy, launching him more and more into the air. The sword reverted back to normal after a second and the Demon held it high into the air. I knew what was coming. He flew above Abaddon quickly and shouted the last form he'd use.

"Determination!" The world slowed down again. He placed Determination on his back and summoned Lilith. The axe was humongous. It was larger than the spire that Abaddon had built. It was a monsterous weapon and the Demon wielded it with great ease. I heard Lilith's voice in my head.

"Such... Power..." She sounded awestruck.

"Target aquired," The left eye read. Rage brought the axe down on the coliseum, the spire was split as well and Abaddon was completely destroyed along with the mountain that once held Canterlot. The axe disappeared and Rage's control of me dissipated as well. My arms turned back to normal size, just metal bones though. The wings folded up and went away and my left eye viewed only black again. Then the world came back into full motion and I began to fall. I was too weak to even think anymore. I just fell. And I blacked out knowing one thing:

The battle was truly over.


	9. Epilogue

Report by: Lieutenant Pinkamena "Pinkie" Diane Pie.

Date stamp: ████████████  
>Report number: B45-██████<p>

Hi! My name is Pinkie! I hate reports. Always have. Better just get this one out of the way then, huh? I've been ordered to report on the last five years since the events noted in Nick's journal. So, I'll start here.

It was five years ago when we attacked the remains of Canterlot to try to bring Abaddon down. If you've read the journal, which I'm sure you did if you're reading this, then you know about how everyone else in the group stayed back to fight so Nick and Fluttershy could go on. Well, I'll let you know how we got out of there alive.

With the loud crashing sounds and breaking coliseum rocks flying into the air, the walls cracking around us, I decided I wasn't going to stay on the mountain anymore. I looked at the raging copy of me, who was clearly no longer being controlled by Abaddon, but was still attacking me and decided I could leave her behind. I used my unlocked magic, which by the way was very very very very hard to unlock! Took a few years. Anyway, I used my magic to open a gate and teleport to where Applejack and Applebloom were fighting against their family.

"Should we save them?" I had asked.

"No. They're not our family anymore. Let them die," Applejack had answered. I grabbed them both and opened another gate to where Twilight had been fighting Trixie. There was scorched ground and broken stones all around us from their battle, but I started to fear the worst when I saw her. She was about a mile away from the mountain, Trixie with her, who looked sick and dizzy, as well as Skyblade and Scootaloo. We appeared next to her and I hugged her tightly. While I did so there was a loud smashing sound and I turned to see the mountain crumbling into dust behind us. No one had seen what had happened, but we were glad we got off of it.

A few more years passed as the world began to rebuild itself. We helped the other countries that had been taken over or attacked and they helped us. Abaddon had caused mass destruction and it left most of the buildings in either shambles or made into monuments to his "glory." It took us all of four years to rebuild.

The new capital of Equestria is actually a smaller city placed just north of Ponyville, named simply: Shy, after Flutters. There's a huge statue in the center of the city depicting her likeness. It's truly beautiful.

Upon the finishings of rebuilding the world and getting everyone situated, took four years, like I said. We all began moving on with our lives.

Skyblade became the General of the Royal Guard in Nick's place and married Applebloom. Applebloom is the first Lieutenant under her husband and his most trusted ally.

Scootaloo went home. She lives with her mom and dad now and they are so happy to have her back. We're all happy to have her back. She lives a relaxing life living in hatred of what she did and the deal she made with Abaddon.

Applejack has quit working for the military, unless they truly need her, and gone back home to take care of Sweet Apple Acres with her cousins.

Rarity has slowly healed her mind and is much less insane than she was before. She still has that doll of me that moves and acts like a cat or Pony or... whatever. Creeps me out, is all I'm saying. She is back to making dresses and runs a quaint little shop. Ponies accept her for who she is as long as the doll doesn't hurt them.

Fiddle Stitch went back to her laboratory in Ponyville and continued doing whatever it is she does down there. I choose not to visit. Some of the tests I've heard about... I don't really approve, but it's not my place to say anything.

Me? Well, I was ranked up in the military as well and am now the designated chef of the Shy Guard. If I had tried to cook food for anyone before the events five years ago there would have been an outcry and I would have been threatened with death, but I think everypony trusts me now, as they eat the food without caution.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering what happened to Nick. Is he dead? Did he die from the fall?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: No. He survived simply because that's who he is. He's taken worse beatings and gotten through it. He was in a catatonic state for... what was it? Like, five months? Yeah that's about right. Five months. No one cared. It wasn't the first time he'd been like this. From what he's been through it's amazing that he's still alive and still cares about this world. We did however find his journals in a locked, magically sealed and protected box in the rubble of the mountain, among many other things of the former residents. We read his journals and found out everything we could about Nick up to when he had defeated me and became the General. We knew he wasn't from this world. There was no way somepony... er... someone like him was from this world. He shares our blood though and he's shed it so many times to allow us to live a peaceful life. We trust him with our lives.

Once Nick woke up his first plan was to help with the rebuilding and he hopped out of bed ready to help. We told him to rest, but he told us to "go fuck yourselves" and helped anyway. When he wasn't helping us rebuild he was making peace with the other countries. There was one in particular, though, that I must speak about.

The Changelings. Nick had made friends with them during the battle against Abaddon and we all knew that. But there was one thing that happened no one had expected. They began to help us. They came into our country and helped us rebuild, not only our homes and cities, but the ones all around the known world. I just remembered something! I'll get back to this in a second!

Oh, I forgot one important Pony! Rainbow Dash! Dashie was more than glad to help us with everything around the world. She decided to stay and make sure that we were taken care of. Nick offered, once he woke up, to take her home, but she rejected the offer to help her friends. I think this pleased Nick to know she cared and wasn't selfish. She really was Loyalty in a nutshell.

Once everything was fixed Nick opened some kind of portal with a gem he had and took Dashie back to Earth, where Nick was from. Nick came back a few days later... Oh hang on. He wants the paper.

Hey, Nick here. Sorry for Pinkie's erratic writing, but I thought since she's all hyper and "let's get this over with" mode right now this would be done quickly, but I thought I'd want to say something right here, regarding Rainbow.

I took Rainbow home, to Earth and we found ourselves back in my apartment. It was still my stuff and there was no sign that anyone had moved in and I realized that it was probably still being automatically paid for by my debit card. I didn't have my cell phone with me anymore an decided that it would just be better to go downstairs and see if Brian was home anyway. We found his apartment and I looked at Dash.

"You ready?" I asked and she nodded, a huge smile on her face. I tapped on the door and heard a small bark from inside and grinned myself. The door opened and I was faced with Brian, who looked confused for a second then instantly worried when he realized who I was.

"Nick? Are you alright?" Gesturing to my stitches and pale white skin.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I brought someone to meet you." I grabbed Dash's arm and pulled her into view. I knew her heart was probably racing like mad as she looked her father up and down again. Brian however, didn't know who she was as he'd never seen her in this shape before.

"Who is she?" He said.

I facepalmed. "Look at her! Look at this beautiful rainbow mane! Look at this athletic body! Look at the damn wings for hell's sake!" She unfolded her bat wings. "She's your daughter, dumbass!"

A look of realization came over Brian's face and I knew he remembered how I had told him that she was in human shape. He moved forward and hugged her, laughing excitedly. Tears in his eyes. I moved past him and into his apartment where I saw the dog that I had brought there five years ago, big and strong now. I knelt down and put my hand out to him. He didn't hesitate and nudged my hand up onto his head and gave me a look of friendly recognition.

"Good to see you too, boy." I scratched his ears. Brian finally ushered Rainbow inside and looked at her in amazement, then back at me.

"I thought you said that she was... dead?"

"She was. But she defeated her own personal hell and was greeted with me and I offered her that I'd bring her home safe and sound if she didn't kill me. Here we are."

"Oh, God bless you, Nick." He moved to hug me and I was caught off guard.

"Okay... let me go!" He stepped back after a tight hug.

"Sorry. Thank you so much." He hugged me again.

"No, seriously, stop..." He moved back again and I sighed. "Did you ever name the dog?" I said, kneeling down to pet him again before Brian could muster another hug.

"Yeah..." He turned a light shade of pink.

"And what is it?" He looked between me and Rainbow Dash before speaking.

"I... Named him Dash." He turned even deeper red now.

"Ha! I like it!" I turned my attention back to the dog. "You a fast runner boy?" His tail wagged. "I bet you are!" I petted his head.

"I like the name too, Dad." Rainbow was really feeling out of place right now, but she wanted to talk to her father.

"I named him after you..." Like it wasn't obvious. He was nervous too, of course. "I missed you so much, I didn't even want to chance one detail of you being lost." He hugged her again, tears in his eyes.

"You know the best part now?" I said, standing and moving towards them. They looked at me and waited for my answer. "Rainbow can integrate into this society now. She is a human in a human world. She is now your daughter and free to roam and live a life like any normal person would. No need to hide her. No need to give her back. If someone ever shows up and says you have to give her back, you tell them that if they even try to take her they'll have Nicolai Imbartan breathing down their neck in no time! And I am not a force to be reckoned with..." Brian nodded and smiled and Rainbow hugged me.

"Thank you so much, Nick!" I hugged her back.

"You're welcome, Dash. Have a good life. I'll stop by here and there, so don't go moving without leaving me some way to know where you are." I started out the door before I thought of something. "Hey, will you mail this thing to this address for me?" I took a piece of paper from a stand next to the door and pen and wrote down my home address in Miami and handed it and the second Dimension Diamond to him. "Tell my brother that I want to see him as soon as possible and that gem will get him there."

"Alright. I'll do it now," Brian reassured me.

"Thanks, Brian. I'll see you guys around." I went back up to my apartment and went home. Now I'll give this back to Pinkie.

AWWWW! Sweet! Nick was always such a sweetheart, even when I was chopping up his arm with a saw. Always been a good guy!

Anyway, back to the report.

Nick did something that we never would have thought would happen. He allowed the Changelings to move into our country. Theirs was overpopulated horridly and they needed somewhere else to go to survive. Nick allowed them to move into Equestria.

The Changelings did something when they came here. They felt outcast, hated, so they changed. They changed into us. Into various forms of us. Nick says that they were fictional characters in his world. "Blogs" of drawings and such.

An example would be like, where there's me, as myself, there's also a number of Pinkamenas who kill and bake others into cupcakes. Or where our Rarity is a masochist, there's a Rarity out there that's a horrible sadist. There are just so many deviants of us out there that it's hard to keep track of the real ones sometimes. Nick fixed that with Twilight and had us all sealed with a magic that allowed us to see one another as the true version of this world. It works nicely.

Now there is one more thing to address before I finish this report.

We were out of royalty for a while, four years in fact. Celestia was dead, Luna was dead. Discord was dead. Oh! One thing before this: The sun and moon? Yeah, the Unicorns handle that again. Alright, back to this. So we were out of royalty and we had no leader, except for Nick. After much deliberation, everypony agreeing right off the bat, Nick became our new king. He didn't like the idea, but we told him how much it would mean to us if he just did it. He finally agreed and the whole of Equestria rejoiced.

Applejack here. There was one thing that Pinkie left out of this here report. We have a Queen too.

Nick had a lot of troubles for a few years after Fluttershy's death, and we can all understand that, knowing what happened. He was a good friend, loving and caring for all Ponies, but he would cry himself to sleep at nights and no one knew why. Until one day he came to me for advice. He told me that he missed Flutters very much and that he had gotten a personal letter from Celestia stating that Fluttershy had failed to beat her Demon and had lost her soul in the process. She was gone forever. Nick was devastated. I told him that I'd always be there for a shoulder to cry on if he needed it.

He came to me at least once a week and we just simply talked. He'd let me ramble on and I'd let him and we were just there bullshitting to each other. It was a way to relieve each other of our burdens, having lost my family hit me hard as well and he knew that.

It was three years after the initial incident that he told me that he was doing better. That he had actually began feeling feelings for somepony. He wouldn't tell me who, but it was evident a few months later when he asked Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings to marry him. She agreed wholeheartedly and the wedding was held a half-year later. Ever since they've been happily wed and living in Shy Castle, ruling Equestria with kind and firm hands.

I respect our king and Queen. We all do. If it wasn't for them, the world would be in pure destruction and chaos now. Nick, if you ever read this, I'm glad you came to Equestria. We'd be toast without you.

Sorry, again, for the out of topic addition. It's Nick again. I wanted to add a few more things before I put this report away for documentation.

My little brother, Wilhelm, came to Equestria. He visited the castle and was greeted with open arms. He had brought Edgar with him as well and the two were happy to see me once again. Will told me about how he had gotten my letter and the diamond and had found his way to come visit me. He also told me about how he knew about our father's past. About how he was a pirate in yet another world and that he wanted to make his own path in his own world. Will had decided to go to the One Piece world and become a pirate. I supported this decision fully and even gave him a goodbye present when he was going to leave.

"Here, little brother," I said, handing him the small black and red ring, Lilith. "It's a magical ring. It grows in power the more you destroy and kill. I hope it doesn't become too powerful, but you might need it at some point. But until then, take this too." I handed him the two old Sun Swords I had used a while back. He took the three gifts happily and hugged me.

"Thank you, Nick."

"Don't thank me yet. I'm going to come see you in, we'll say, six months. If you're not strong enough to handle me then I'm going to kill you and personally drag you to Hell. Understood?" My deadpan face struck fear into my brother's heart as he inched away from me, turned and bolted into the portal in fear.

"Not the best way to get rid of him, you know?" Edgar let me know. He was staying here in Equestria now that they had sold the house back in Miami.

"No, I'm fucking serious. I'm going to kill him if he isn't strong enough. His crew too. Simple as that."

"How can you be so cruel? He is your little brother, you should protect him."

"It'll make him stronger. It made me stronger and I'm not even dead yet." And we walked and talked about my father and mother's pasts for the next few hours. Did I ever tell you that my mother's name was Lily Blossom? She was a gardener. Beautiful things her plants were. Like you could sit and talk to them for hours. Thinking back on it, might have been able to.

-Lieutenant Pinkamena "Pinkie" Diane Pie

-Honorary Lieutenant Applejack

-King Nicolai Imbartan.

(final author's note. This is, in fact, the final actual chapter of The Chronicles of Nicolai Imbartan. Thank you for reading along. I love everyone who finished this story and I really really hope you liked it. I've enjoyed writing it. If you like it, pretty please leave a review. Tell me how to be better, tell me what I did right.

And if you want to continue the story, I have a Tumblr open at . If you want to continue the story, head on over there. Send me some asks. My art is piss-poor at best, but I'm trying to improve. If that doesn't strike your fancy, then I'm okay with that. Thank you all for reading and again, I hope you enjoyed.)


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